The Stealer
by hobbleit
Summary: Set a year after the Hunter; Dean and Jess have given up hunting for a normal life but the return of Sam is about to draw them back in.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I thought I might as well start posting this now (even though I've only written six chapters). This is the third part to my AU. The first part is The Seeker and the second is Hunter. The first three chapters deal with the end of the Hunter so it's going to be a pretty slow going story (seriously; six chapters in and Im not even up to the main action yet, lol). The title is taken from the Stealer by Free and the song that Dean sings as a lullaby is Weep no More by Bad Company.**

**Chapter One**

_They both could hear Sam's cries of pain and it caused them so much anguish. The house was like a maze but Dean could see the door to freedom. He pulled it open and they both ran to the car._

"_Dean! RUN!" He heard Sam scream before he saw him. His little brother was beaten and bloody and running towards them._

"_SAMMY!" Dean cried as he saw a man come up behind him. Sam just had time to turn around before the man pulled out a knife and slid it effortlessly into Sam's stomach. "NO!" Dean yelled as Sam fell to the ground with a lifeless thud. He just lay there and didn't move. Dean knew he was dead but he didn't want to believe it. "SAMMY!"_

"_Dean," Jess pleaded. "We have to go before they catch us." Dean made no attempt to move so Jess had to use all her strength to drag him to the Impala. She helped him into the passenger seat before speeding off as quickly as she could._

Dean woke up; a cold sweat dripping down his face. He had the same nightmare over and over most nights and once he woke up he also knew he wouldn't get back to sleep. He stared at the clock; it was two in the morning. Not wanting to disturb Jess he quietly climbed out of bed and made his way downstairs. He silently walked through the living room, not bothering to turn the lights on; he knew his way round the house in the dark anyway so it made no difference. Heading towards the kitchen, he ran the tap until the water was cold before filling the glass and taking a long drink to soothe his parched throat. He hated those dreams; they only served to remind him of his failure.

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It had been a year. One whole year since he had watched his baby brother stabbed in the gut by that bastard Jake and dying alone. He couldn't save him. To Dean it didn't matter that Sam had saved their lives; handed them the Colt and gave the opportunity to escape. All that mattered was Sam was dead.

There had been no body to burn or bury. They went back to the place he died shortly after Dean had killed Azazel but all the demons were long gone, as was Sam's body. Dean supposed that was one of the problems; because he had not been able to gain any closure that a funeral might have done. He sometimes had nightmares about what they might have done to his brother's body and it made him sick. The more he thought about it the more depressed he became.

His heart wasn't in the hunt anymore. He and Jess had taken a couple of hunts shortly after Sam had died but Dean came to the decision after a lot of soul searching that he couldn't do it anymore. Jess had been great and stood by him in his decision, so they found somewhere to live. Bobby had been good enough to offer Dean a job; which was good since Dean's employment history was not going to bowl anybody over and it wasn't like he could tell a potential employer that he'd spent most of his life hunting down ghosts, demons and other evil things.

So things soon settled into a routine. The house was small but it was more than adequate for the two of them. Dean was surprised at how little he missed the hunting. He had always thought that he would go crazy if he had to live a normal life but he didn't. If anything he enjoyed the simplicity of it, getting up, going to work, coming home again. He had been so far removed from normal for so long he had forgotten how good it was.

But he was depressed. Sometimes he felt like crawling into bed, falling asleep and just never waking up. Some days he didn't even attempt to get out of bed. It was those days that worried Jess the most. She never knew how to react when he acted like this.

"_Hey," she said to him one day when he was lying in their darkened room. "How are you feeling?"_

"_I'm okay," he lied. The truth was he was far from okay but he didn't want to worry her._

"_What have I said about lying to me?" She asked as she lay down on the bed behind him, wrapped her arms around his chest and kissed his neck._

"_That I shouldn't," he said; half-sarcastically. Jess smiled, he actually sounded like the old Dean for a moment. But it passed and he became quiet again._

"_I know you miss him," she didn't say his name but it was obviously she was talking about Sam._

"_I miss him so much," his voice was quiet but it was filled with so much pain it almost broke Jess' heart._

"_We could talk about it if you want."_

_Dean shifted on the bed and rested his head on Jess' chest; closed his eyes and just listened to the beat of her heart. "I should have saved him," he eventually said._

"_You did save him, Dean," she reassured him. _

"_Then why isn't he alive?" His voice was small and childlike._

"_Sweetheart, you couldn't have done anything different to save him. He knew he was going to die, he accepted that. All he wanted was for us to be safe and we are."_

"_But it's not fair. Why do I have to lose my entire family?" Dean could feel the anger welling up inside him and he didn't think he could keep it buried much longer._

"_I know," Jess soothed, stroking his hair. "It isn't fair but there's nothing we can do."_

"_I just wish there was."_

And so it continued. Dean had his good days and his bad days but somehow they managed to survive. On his good days Dean went to work and generally managed to act like a normal human being even though he didn't feel like it and on his bad days the depression kept him down. Bobby understood, he knew what it was like to lose someone he cared about.

Then Jess got pregnant.

It had happened a couple of months after Sam's death and neither of them had been expecting it. If anything the prospect of becoming a father terrified him beyond belief. He barely had any experience with children and he was scared that he would be a failure. No matter how much Jess tried to reassure him but he was convinced that everything would go wrong.

After all; it was Dean's life.

His thoughts on the subject changed the moment he had seen his child on the ultrasound scan. It was so tiny yet so perfect; he almost cried to see it. His eyes were transfixed on the monitor and his hand held Jess' tightly as they joyfully stared at their unborn child. He had never been a believer in love at first sight until that moment. He had fallen completely and totally in love with his child.

After that his depression lifted. He now had a purpose for living again; he was going to be a father and when before the prospect had terrified him, now he was looking forward to it.

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"_God, I am getting so big," Jess commented when she was in her sixth month. She and Dean were curled up in bed one sunny Sunday morning. "When I stand up I can't even see my toes," she laughed. Dean smiled and pulled her closer to him, kissing her softly on the lips before wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug._

"_You look beautiful," he reassured her._

"_Really?"_

"_Of course, you're all glow-y."_

"_I am?" Jess asked, giggling and Dean nodded before kissing her again. He rested the palm of his hand on her cheek and gently caressed the soft skin._

"_I love you," he whispered once he had broken the kiss. Even though he had felt it for a long time this was the first time he had said those three words out loud. _

"_I love you too," she replied kissing him in return. Jess had never thought she could feel like this for a person after Sam but Dean had taken a place in her heart and filled the gaping hole that had been present since Sam's disappearance over two years previous. She still loved her former boyfriend, she always will but he was dead and nothing was going to change that. She felt the baby kick; it was like it knew its parents were happy. Jess took Dean's hand and placed it on her expanding belly._

"_I love it when the baby kicks," he told her, kissing her temple gently. Jess smiled, feeling completely content. For the first time in years she felt like she was in a normal relationship, with a normal boyfriend, living in a nice house and about to have her first child. "What are you thinkin' about?" He asked, noticing she had gone very quiet all of a sudden._

"_I love this," she said, taking a moment to think. "I love all of it; being here with you in this house and about to have a baby. It feels so good."_

"_I know. I never thought that normal would be an attractive life choice but now that I'm living it, it's not so bad."_

"_Not so bad?" Jess laughed. "Anyone would think that you hated being normal."_

"_I used to hate normal," he admitted. "I used to laugh at all those people who settled down and had kids, a white picket fence and a mortgage. But now, after everything that happened; it doesn't seem like such a scary prospect."_

"_You're going to be a great dad, you know that?"_

"_You think so?"_

"_I know so."_

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Dean fell in love all over again with his daughter the moment he held her in his arms. She was so small yet so completely perfect in every single way. He could feel himself tearing up just looking at her tiny face but if anyone ever asked, he would deny it to his dying day. They decided to name her Mary after Dean's mother.

Leaving the kitchen, he made his way back upstairs and back to his and Jess' room. Walking over to his daughter he stood over her cradle and watched her until she began to stir. He looked over at the clock; it was now three in the morning. He had been downstairs longer than he realised. Before she started to cry Dean picked Mary up and gently held her in his arms.

"Come on, let's get you something to eat," he whispered softly; kissing her forehead before carrying her downstairs.

Mary was a month old, Dean couldn't believe it. She was growing so quickly he felt that if he were to blink then he would miss everything. He heated her bottle and sat down on the sofa to feed her.

"Hey," he heard Jess' voice from the doorway.

"Hey, I didn't want to wake you," he smiled.

"It's okay," she returned the smile and sat down beside him; gently stroking her daughter's head. "I was awake anyway."

"So you were just pretending to sleep?"

"I've been awake since you had the nightmare; I was just waiting for you to come back to bed."

"You go back, I'll be up soon; she's just being a little fussy tonight, aren't you sweetheart," he said to Mary who simply continued to suck on her bottle.

"Okay," she kissed him quickly before returning to the bedroom.

Once Mary had finished her bottle she was still fussing.

"Oh sweetie, are you gonna settle down for daddy?" Her answer to that was no, she wasn't going to settle. "Okay, you're gonna force me to sing aren't you? I thought so." Dean searched his brain for any lullabies but he couldn't think of any; so he sang the first song that came into his head. "Well, you asked for it," Dean cleared his throat and began to sing. "_Mary; don't you weep no more, Mary; don't you weep no more. Well I got your letter today, packed my bags and I'm on my way so don't you weep no more. Now dry your eyes, don't you shed no tears. The sun is rising; put away your fears,"_ Mary started to settle as he rocked her gently in his arms until she slowly fell asleep.

Making his way back upstairs; he placed Mary back in her cradle before looking over at Jess; who had fallen back to sleep. Dean smiled, he felt so happy at this moment in time he didn't want any of it to change.

Then he heard a knock on the door. Wondering who the hell would be knocking at this time of the morning; he warily made his way down the stairs for the third time that night and looked out of the glass. He couldn't see who it was, only a dark shadow pounding on the door. Cursing their lack of weapons; they had got rid of them all before Mary was born, Dean crept into the kitchen and picked up the sharpest knife he could find and went to open the door.

The dark figure was still stood there; still knocking when he returned and cautiously Dean reached for the handle, turned it and slowly opened the door. Dean dropped the knife on the floor when he saw who it was standing right in front of him.

It was Sam.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Next chapter. I've decided to update every thursday that way I have another six weeks until I run out of chapters, lol. I really need to get on writing. Anyway, this is what happened to Sam.**

**Chapter Two**

Sam didn't remember much of what happened that night. He could remember pretending to turn on Dean and Jess, then helping them escape before leaving to fight Jake. He even remembered yelling at Dean to run but that was all. Everything went black and the next thing he could remember he was lying in a hospital bed surrounded by wires and tubes and feeling like complete crap. His side hurt like hell.

"You're awake," he heard a cold voice from the other side of the room. He could tell it was Meg even though he didn't have the strength to open his eyes. "Took you long enough."

Sam couldn't bring himself to speak so he just uttered a low groan to acknowledge her presence. He just wanted to fall back into the dark oblivion where the immense pain he was feeling would disappear.

"You gonna open your eyes anytime soon?" Sam merely groaned again. He heard Meg give a small laugh; he wished she would go away. "They thought that you were never going to wake up," she continued, "but I knew different. I knew you were always going to get better. Now we just need to get you back into shape so we can kill that annoying brother of yours," that caused Sam to wake up a little bit.

Opening his eyes he glanced at Meg; who he saw was standing and staring out of the window. Finding enough strength to talk he asked, "What happened?"

"You don't remember? You got stabbed. Pretty bad actually seeing as you almost died. Father wasn't happy at having to use Jake since you were out of action but off they went anyway. I don't know how but Dean got the Colt and he killed father. I've been waiting for you to wake up so we can go after him."

"How long have I been out?"

"About two months," she told him but Sam could quite believe it. "I just thought you were being lazy."

"I'm tired," he said quietly.

"What? You just woke up from a two month sleep, how can you be tired?"

"Just am. I'm gonna sleep now," he told her before closing his eyes again and letting the darkness overtake him.

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Sam had a dream.

He was back at that house, that god awful place where he had died and Dean was stood in front of him.

"Dean, hi."

"Sammy, you're alive," Dean grinned and pulled his brother into a tight hug. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," Sam admitted. He was so glad to see his brother again; even if it was only in a dream. "You got out okay."

"Yeah we did. Killed the yellow eyed son of a bitch too," he grinned cheekily; which caused Sam to smile back just as broad.

"I need to see you."

"You can't, not yet; but you will eventually. You have to wait until the time is right."

"But when will that be?"

"You'll know," dream Dean cryptically told him.

"What? I don't understand," Sam yelled as he watched his brother fade away. "Dean! Don't go, I need you," he begged but Dean vanished into thin air. "Please don't leave me alone," he said quietly, with a mixed of sadness and fear in his voice.

He slowly felt himself being pulled back into consciousness even though he wanted to stay sleeping. When he could keep his eyes closed no more he slowly opened them and saw that it was now night and he was alone. Breathing a sigh of relief that Meg was no longer there, he shifted in his bed trying to make himself more comfortable. He failed and only managed to cause him more pain.

"Screw this," he whispered to himself; pulling out the IV and throwing back the covers. He was leaving this place now and there was no-one who was going to stop him. Moving slowly; he swung his legs over the side of the bed and shivered as he felt the cold surface of the floor on the soles of his feet. He shuffled to the end of the bed and, bracing himself, moved forwards into a standing position. He then fell to the floor in a heap; pain coursing through his body. He could vaguely hear the nurse call out for a doctor but it seemed so far away.

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"You shouldn't have tried to leave," Meg scolded him the next morning.

"I just wanted to get outta here. I hate hospitals."

"Yes, they are rather depressing but I need you at a hundred per cent and at this moment in time you aren't, so you need to stay here until they tell you that you can leave."

"I don't need anyone telling me what to do; I feel fine and I can leave whenever I want to."

"Yeah, well go ahead. Let's see how far you get this time. Hey, maybe you'll make it to the door before you collapse this time. You are not ready and I need you ready."

"So you've said already," Sam huffed. He really needed to get out of here and find his brother; he was desperate to know what had happened to him. "Tell me something, what happened to Dean?"

"Last I heard he'd given up hunting and got himself a nice house in the suburbs with that pretty little girlfriend of his."

"He's given up hunting? Why?"

"From what I heard he got all depressed after you 'died'," she used air quotes when she said died, "Then he just gave it all up for a normal life. The problem with that is now he's not hunting he's off our radar and we have no solid lead on where he is. That is where you come in."

"What am I gonna do?"

"Well, when you can stay awake for more than ten minutes and can actually stand up you can go look for him. You're a human and for some reason people seem to trust you so you'll have no problems tracking him down."

"Whatever," Sam dejectedly replied. He had no intention of hunting his brother down so the demons could kill him. "I'm going back to sleep."

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It was another Month before they allowed Sam to finally leave the hospital. Stepping out into the bright sunlight he felt strangely out of touch with the world. For some reason everything seemed different even though nothing had changed. But Sam had. He had been so seduced by evil he had been blinded to all the good in the world. Looking around now, he could see the good and beauty all around him. Taking a deep breath; wanting to savour the moment for as long as possible before Meg drew him back into the world of evil.

"Are you going to help or are you just gonna sit there and mope?" An annoyed Meg asked Sam who was sitting quietly in a chair looking depressed. He had been like this for months, it was a year since he had been stabbed and he had been forced to stay with the demons all this time. But all he thought about was leaving so he could track Dean down. Truth be told he only stayed so long so he could find out their plans so he could stop them. He was annoyed at having to listen to their plans to find Dean but they couldn't. Sam wouldn't have been surprised if he had done something to make sure they couldn't find him.

"Huh?" He looked up; he hadn't even noticed she had been speaking. He rarely ever listened to what she said any more. "What did you say?"

"I said are you going to help us or are you just gonna sit around and mope?"

"I'm thinking I'm going to go with the moping."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Meg shouted, he was making her angrier by the minute.

"What's wrong with me?" Sam yelled back. "I got stabbed. I nearly died. And what was it all for? Nothing! You couldn't keep a hold of the Colt, you couldn't open the Devil's Gate and Azazel is dead. What the hell is the point of continuing?"

"We need to finish this. We need to finish what he started so we can have hell on earth."

"But what's the point?" Sam asked her sarcastically. "I'll tell you, there is none. You don't know where the Colt is and you have no idea how to get your hands on it so you might as well just give up."

"I'm not giving up."

"Then you can do it without me because I'm out of here," he stormed past her and ran upstairs.

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Sam was throwing his clothes into a bag when Meg angrily stormed into the room and started yelling at him.

"What the hell changed with you? You used to want this too so why the sudden change of opinion?"

"I had an epiphany."

"Really, then you can just have another then can't you."

"It's over, Meg. I'm going to leave and there is nothing you can do about it. You wanna know something?" He asked her, his voice calming down and becoming soft.

"What?"

"I was playing you. From the moment I found out that you and Azazel were using me I used you back. I said I wanted to go back to Dean and Jess because I wanted to help them. I brought them to you so I could give them the Colt, so they could take it away from you and so you couldn't carry out your plans. Of course I never intended to get myself stabbed."

"You know what you are? You're scum," Meg grabbed Sam angrily and shoved him into the wall. Sam winced with pain but he still managed to laugh.

"No, I'm not scum. You are. You're a demon and I am never going to trust another demon as long as I live," he turned the tables on Meg and pushed her against the wall. "I'm leaving and you're not going to stop me."

"Well go then, see if I care. But you know what Sam? When you were with us you showed real darkness, you killed people in cold blood and that kind of darkness never goes away. You'll be back and when you do I will kill you myself."

"You just keep believing that, Meg," Sam smiled sarcastically sweetly at her as he grabbed his back and slung it over his shoulder. "Goodbye," he said and walked out of the room without another word; he didn't even bother to look back.

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Sam needed to find Dean. Problem was he didn't even know where to start looking. All he knew was that he had given up hunting and was living somewhere. Sam could only think of one person who could help him and that was Bobby.

Stealing the car was easy but coming up with an explanation for Bobby as to why he wasn't dead would be harder. He finally arrived at Bobby's late that night.

"Sam, what the hell?" Bobby said to him when he answered the door. "I thought you were dead," he grabbed Sam and pulled him into a hug.

"I thought I was too," Sam replied; almost bursting into tears at seeing his friend again after so long. "I got so lost," he whimpered.

"I betcha did. Does Dean know you're alive?"

"No," his voice not rising higher than a whisper. "I don't know where he is, but I need to see him."

"I'll go get you his address, he doesn't live far away. What happened?"

"I got stabbed and I nearly died but they got me to a hospital. I was in a coma for two months until I woke up and they took me back. Bobby, the demons aren't gonna stop until they get the Colt."

"We know that's why it's well hidden. They'll not find it, I made sure of that."

"Good. I can't believe it's been a year since I saw Dean," he admitted. "It's been so long. I'm tired and I just want to sleep."

"Well you can do that once you've seen your brother," Bobby said as he handed Sam a slip of paper.

"Thanks Bobby."

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Sam watched the house for a while before he could summon up the courage to knock on the door. He could see the lights turn off as his brother went up the stairs so he took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Dean took a while to answer, Sam knew why; old habits died hard for the former hunter and Sam knew Dean was finding some sort of weapon in case it was something attacking him. Eventually he heard the door creak open and saw his brother. When Dean saw him; he dropped the knife to the floor and simply stared at him in disbelief.

Sam was alive and for the first time in a long time he actually felt it.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: In other news the previous story The Hunter has been nominated for best AU story over at SN.TV so thanks to Denise and Jen for nominating my little story**

**Chapter Three**

"Sam," Dean asked; his mouth wide open in shock as he took everything in. The brother he thought died a year ago was standing in front of him alive and well. It took a long time for Dean to fully comprehend what was going on. "Sam, you're not dead," he exclaimed and grabbed hold of his brother; fastening his arms around his brother's torso and pulled him into a hug. "You're not dead," he repeated; his voice becoming shaky, Sam knew he was on the verge of crying.

"I'm not dead," Sam assured him; returning the hug. "And I'm not evil, I promise you."

"I can't believe it," Dean told him; not wanting to let go of his brother, he actually increased his grip on Sam.

"Dean, I can't breathe."

"Sorry," Dean reluctantly let go of Sam and stared at him. He had lost weight, dark circles had formed underneath his eyes and he looked very tired. "What happened? I thought you were dead!"

"I'm not really sure about that," Sam explained. "There are quite a lot of gaps in my memory and I'm still not sure what happened that night."

"Dean?" A voice called from up the stairs. "What's going on? I heard banging," both men turned and saw Jess stood at the top of the stairs looking very puzzled. A shocked look crossed her face when she saw Sam stood there. "Sam, you're not dead," her voice wasn't quite as happy as Dean's had been. She was unsure what to make of it all; was he good or was he here to kill them?

"No," Sam looked down at the floor; suddenly feeling very shy. The last time he had seen his ex-girlfriend he had been pretending to be evil and he was certain by the tone of her voice that she hadn't quite forgiven him yet.

Jess slowly walked down the stairs, taking one step at a time until she reached the brothers.

"Hi Jess," Sam said pathetically but was not able to come up with a more satisfactory response. "How've you been?"

"Me? I've been just fine," there was a hint of anger in her voice. "Where've you been for the last year if you haven't been dead?"

"Jess, do we have to do this now?" Dean asked, he was just happy to see his brother again after all this time.

"I think we should; I mean it's not like he's been trustworthy in the past."

"I'm sorry, I really am but you have to believe me when I say I'm not evil anymore."

"I'm sorry too but I just can't," they were interrupted by the sound of Mary crying. "I'll go see to her," Jess told Dean before going back upstairs. Sam looked questioningly at his brother, waiting for an answer.

"You have a baby?" He asked.

"Yeah," Dean replied, a smile growing on his face. "Mary," he told him as he made his way into the living room. "You want a coffee or something?"

"I'm fine," Sam said, sitting down on the sofa. "How old is she?"

"A month. Here's a picture," he handed him a photograph.

"She's beautiful," he told him, staring at the photo of his niece.

"Yeah, she's amazing," Dean beamed. "She's the most beautiful little girl I've ever seen."

"Of course you'd say that," Sam laughed, "she's your daughter."

"What happened?" Dean asked sitting next to Sam on the sofa. "During this last year, what can you tell me?"

"The first thing I remember is waking up in the hospital and Meg was there. She told me I nearly died and I'd been out for two months. I tried to leave but I couldn't; I didn't have enough strength so I waited until I was strong enough. All the time I was in there I could only think about finding you but I didn't know where you were. The demons didn't either. All Meg told me was that you'd given up hunting and I was glad. I was glad they couldn't find you because that meant you were safe," Sam paused before continuing.

"They released me from hospital and I went back with Meg. She's still looking for you and the Colt and she's not gonna stop until she does."

"Well that doesn't bode well for me then, does it?" Dean shrugged off Sam's comments. He wasn't worried; he knew they wouldn't find him.

"Wait? You're not afraid that they'll find you?" Sam asked; his voice full of surprise.

"Nope," Dean told him, "And do you know why?"

"No why?" Sam was curious.

"Because one day I was searching through Bobby's books and I found something," he stood up and walked over to the cabinet, gesturing at Sam who stood up and followed him.

Sam helped Dean move the cabinet and saw a strange symbol painted on the wall.

"What's that?" He asked.

"That symbol hides this house from demons. I painted one in every room of the house so they won't ever find it unless they know where to look."

"That's really clever," Sam smiled, happy that his brother had thought of a way to keep his family safe. Helping Dean put the cabinet back into place; they both returned to the sofa to continue their conversation.

"What happened after you came out of hospital?"

"I stayed with them for a while," Sam continued. "At first I needed to heal but when I started to get better I began to listen into their conversations to try and find out what they were planning."

"Is that how you found out about them wanting to steal the Colt back?"

"Yeah. They wanted me to find you since they couldn't but I couldn't do that to you; so I just waited, bided my time until I could leave. I didn't actually intend to leave this soon," Sam explained, "but I just had enough. I couldn't take it anymore so I told Meg where to go, packed up and walked out."

"Are you sure no-one followed you?" Dean asked; feeling slightly concerned.

"I'm sure. I left quite a few false trails before I came here. Besides; I didn't actually know where you were."

"How did you find out where I was?"

"I went to see Bobby. He was kinda shocked to see me."

"I'm sure he was," Dean laughed and Sam joined in.

"So what about you? What made you decide to give up hunting?"

Dean was reluctant to tell him the reason why he had given up hunting; but there was something in Sam's eyes that made him share. "My heart just wasn't in it anymore," he told his brother. "I didn't want to hunt if you were dead."

"So you got a nice house in the suburbs and had a baby?" Sam asked, his voice full of amusement at the thought of Dean doing this.

"Yeah," Dean grinned. "It's not very 'me' is it?"

"No," Sam agreed. "You were the one that said if you ever had to live a normal life you would probably blow your brains out."

"I never thought I would enjoy normal but it's not that bad," he told Sam. "I enjoy it."

"I think it's great," Sam told him before yawning.

"You can sleep on the sofa if you want," Dean said; noticing his brother's tiredness.

"Thanks."

"I'll go get you a blanket," Dean said as he made his way upstairs. Jess was sitting on the bed with Mary in her arms; gently rocking her. Dean crossed the room to the cupboard and pulled a blanket out.

"He's staying," she said. It wasn't a question.

"Yeah."

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Sam didn't meet Mary until the next morning but when he did he was immediately entranced. She was so small and when Dean asked if he wanted to hold her he was hesitant in case he broke her but Dean insisted that would not happen. The moment Dean placed her in his arms; Sam fell in love with his little niece.

"Hey," he cooed. "I'm Sam."

"She's beautiful, isn't she?"

"She's the most beautiful thing ever," Sam smiled as Mary's tiny hand wrapped around his forefinger.

"She's already got Bobby wrapped around her little finger, now she has you too."

"Thanks for letting me stay."

"No problem," Dean told him as he grabbed his jacket. "I gotta go to work," he explained when he saw Sam's puzzled expression. "Can you and Jess get along?"

"I'm sure we can," Jess smiled as she entered the living room and kissed Dean quickly on the lips.

"Great. I'll see you both tonight if you haven't killed each other," he grinned and left.

Sam continued to hold Mary until she started to cry and then he was at a loss as what to do. Jess gently scooped her up in her arms and gently rocked her until she calmed down. She then placed her into a Moses basket and Mary immediately fell asleep. Jess then busied herself tidying up and ignored Sam who was still sat on the sofa. They both held the uncomfortable silence for several minutes before Sam broke it.

"So…" Jess looked up and stared at him.

"Yes," she said back, harsher than she had intended.

"We need to talk about this."

"Talk about what?"

"The waves of hostility radiating from you."

"I don't know what you mean," she tried to brush him off.

"I think you do and we need to talk about the last couple of years."

Jess sighed and dropped a small teddy bear onto the table before sitting down next to Sam. "It was easier to forgive you when you were dead," she told him.

"Was it, why?"

"Because when you were dead I didn't have to face all these emotions. I could forgive you because I knew that I would never have to talk to you. Now you're alive and all those feelings have come back. I remember how much I loved you but also how much I hated you."

"I'm sorry about everything," Sam said quietly. "I'm sorry about how I treated you. I'm sorry that I tried to kill you."

"I know you are but it doesn't make it any easier," she told him as tears started to form in her eyes. "I used to dream about you a lot, you know?"

"You did?"

"Yeah but they were never good. When you first disappeared I used to dream that you killed me," she stopped when she saw the look of horror in Sam's face. "But after you died I used to dream that you were standing in front of me and you would blame me for not doing enough to save you."

"Jess… I…" Sam didn't really know what to say. The tears that had formed in her eyes had now started to fall down her cheeks and as much as Sam wanted to wipe them away he knew he couldn't. She wasn't his anymore. "What can I do to make it right?" He eventually asked.

"You just have to give me time," she told him. "I need time to adjust to you being in my life again, I need to figure out where you fit in."

"I'll give you as much time as you need but I want to be in your life. I want to get to know my brother again; I want to get to know my niece."

"And I want you to get to know them too," she smiled. "But there are gonna have to be some rules."

"Okay," he agreed.

"Until I'm sure that you're not evil I don't want you alone with Mary."

"I can do that."

"Also, you can't leave the house without either me or Dean; I need to make sure that you aren't communicating with demons."

"I can do that too."

"Good," she sighed and leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them Sam was still sat next to her; looking mournful. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "It's just all a bit overwhelming. I sometimes wish I had died."

"Why?"

"Because then it would be over. I wouldn't have demons after me for deserting them; I wouldn't have to feel all the guilt about all the bad things I did. If I was dead then I wouldn't be causing any more trouble for you."

"Dean's happy you're not dead. He went through a really bad patch after you died."

"I still don't know how he could forgive me."

"He forgave you because you're his brother. He loves you."

Sam nearly broke into tears when Jess said that but he managed to hold it in. "I'm going to make things right," he promised.

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When Dean returned that night he found that neither Sam nor Jess had killed one another so he considered that a good thing. They were both still very quiet though which worried him.

"How's your day been?" He asked Jess; kissing her softly on the lips.

"It's been okay."

"What about Sam?"

"He's been quiet mostly. We talked earlier but since then he's been quiet."

"What did you talk about?" Dean enquired.

"Everything. I'm not happy with him being here but I'm not going to throw him out. He can stay as long as you want him to."

"Thank you," Dean said as he pulled her into a hug. "I really want to get to know my brother again."


	4. Chapter 4

**And on to chapter four. Since I kept forgetting I really should put a disclaimer here. I don't own supernatural; I'm just playing.**

Chapter Four

Meg was annoyed. No, she wasn't annoyed; she was fuming. She had trusted Sam; well as much as an evil demon could trust a person, but she thought that he was on her side. She had patiently waited for him to wake up after he had been stabbed and how had he repaid her? He had gone back to his pathetic brother. Now she wanted him dead.

He had played her. He had been playing her for months before he had been stabbed and she hadn't seen it. She was angry at herself more than she was angry at him. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to rip his intestines out through his throat.

She had been forced to change bodies. She'd left behind the meat suit of the helpless girl she had been possessing and taken on a new body. Of course the girl had died soon after Meg had left her but that was to be expected. The body had been through too much over the last two years and could never have survived. Her new body was amazing though. She was sure the girl had been a gymnast or something like that because she could bend in ways that Meg never even knew a body could. She would have to have a little fun with that later.

Meg pulled her new long brown hair behind her head and fastened it in place with an elastic band. "You find him?" She asked without turning around; knowing full well there was another demon stood behind her.

"No, he has completely disappeared," the demon reported. "We've looked everywhere but we can't find him anywhere."

"Then you're not looking hard enough," she turned around; her eyes filled with fury. "I don't want to see you again until you've found him," the demon stepped back when he saw her rage.

"Yes ma'am," he said before turning around and making a hasty exit. Meg picked up the glass that was on the table next to her and threw it against the wall. She was going to have to do a lot of work to track Sam down.

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She watched as the blood trickled down his throat; the thick redness stained his pale skin. He hadn't been much help he had no idea where Dean was hiding so she had slit his throat without showing him the slightest bit of mercy. She had even smiled at his pain and discomfort as he choked to death.

She had been torturing Dean's friends and associates to find his whereabouts; hell she was going to torture everyone he had ever met if only one of them could tell her where he was then it would be worth it. None of them did though. He had literally disappeared off the face of the earth and Meg was fed up with his stupid little game. She was going to make him suffer once she had found him. She was going to kill him but she was going to make sure he watched the people he loved most die first.

"He didn't know where they were," she told the demon guarding the entrance. "We need to find another lead," she said as she wiped the blood splatters from her face and walked away without turning back to see the demon's reaction. She had no time for their pathetic excuses as to why they had come up empty handed.

"Excuse me, miss," the demon called after her. "We have another lead." Meg stopped in her tracks.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She turned around; her eyes filled with fury. "Did you not think that it would be important?"

"I'm… Sssorry," he stuttered.

"Great, a nervous demon; just what I need," she whispered under her breath. "What did you find out?" She said out loud to him.

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"What do you mean you 'lost him?'" Meg's mood was not improving at all. "How could you lose him?" Their lead had somehow managed to escape and Meg was placing the blame squarely on the nervous demon. "He was right here. All you had to do was watch him and wait for me to get here. How could you be so incompetent?"

The nervous demon couldn't meet her eyes. He looked down at the floor; his eyes shifting nervously from side to side. He opened his mouth and started to speak but Meg stopped him.

"You know what? I don't care what you have to say," she said as she grabbed him and threw him against the wall; she pushed her face into his and he was terrified of her. After a moment she let him drop to the floor and he landed with a loud thud, "Can someone get rid of him?"

"Wha… what?" He stuttered; feeling more scared than he ever had done in his demonic life.

"Oh so now you find your voice? It's too late; someone send him back to Hell; I don't want to look at him anymore. And you'd all better think of a new plan for finding the Winchester's because I am really beginning to run out of patience right now, understand?" She stared at them all and they knew that she could kill any one of them in a heartbeat. They all nodded. "I need some better minions," she whispered under her breath as she walked away.

"I have an idea," another one of her pathetic demons came up to her and started to talk. The demon's voice was high pitched and very squeaky which annoyed Meg greatly.

"And what would that be?" She replied through clenched teeth; not bothering to look up from the papers she was staring at.

"Maybe we need to get some outside help," she said and Meg looked up.

"What do you mean outside help?"

"I've been hearing some things," high pitched demon said, "About someone who could help us find the Colt."

Meg's interest was officially piqued. "Tell me more," she smiled maliciously.

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Bela Talbot sat and was thoroughly bored. She had been called to talk to this woman and she had kept her waiting for more than half an hour. All she had been told was that this woman had an offer for her. A potentially well paid offer. But so far all Bela had seen was the wall and a couple of very scared minions who had made no attempt to make contact with her. She was fed up at staring at her nails nonchalantly; fed up with staring at the blank walls and was seriously contemplating just leaving.

"She'll see you now," Bela looked up and saw a young girl who was gesturing towards a room. Bela stood up.

"It's about time," she commented, "I've been waiting for far too long," she said as she walked past the girl.

Bela walked into the room and shut the door behind her. She saw a young, petite woman with long dark hair sitting behind a large desk.

"You're here," Meg said; looking up from a huge stack of papers.

"I've been here for the last half an hour," Bela replied with a tone of annoyance in her voice; leaning over the desk. "What can I do for you?" She pushed away from the desk; her expression changing from annoyed to curious and sat down in the chair.

"I have a problem that needs taking care of and I've heard good things about your ability to procure certain items."

"Then you heard correct. What item am I 'procuring' for you," she placed the emphasis on procuring.

"I recently had something very valuable stolen from me and I want it back. All you need to know is it's a gun and it's in the possession of Dean Winchester."

"If you know where it is why don't you go and 'procure' it yourself?"

"Because I don't know where he is. No-one does and I've heard that you have the contacts to find someone."

"You've managed to find a lot about me and yet I know nothing about you, how is that?"

"I also have my contacts," Meg told her as she stood up and moved around to the other side of the desk. She leaned against the dark polished wood and stared at Bela. "I'm willing to pay you fifty thousand dollars; half now and half when you bring me the gun. Also, I might be able to help you with your little problem." Bela thought about Meg's offer for a few moments.

"That's a very persuasive offer," Bela stood up and held out her hand. Meg took it and they shook. "I'll find your gun."

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Dean Winchester was a hard man to find. For some reason that Meg hadn't divulged he had gone into hiding and no-one seemed to know where he was. Bela could only do one thing and that was ask the spirits.

They proved to be very helpful. They told her where Dean was living now all she needed to do was to find Meg's precious gun and steal it. That part was harder. Wherever it was it was well hidden. However much Meg wanted that gun it was obvious that Dean wanted to hide it from her more. Why else would he keep it so well hidden? The spirits were no help on that matter so there was only one thing she could think of doing. She would have to break into his home and search it for clues to the gun's whereabouts.

The fact she couldn't find the gun didn't annoy Bela half as much as how secretive Meg had been. She didn't even know what this gun looked like; Meg hadn't even divulged the make of it so how was she supposed to know which one to steal?

Bela dressed for the job. She pulled on a pair of tight black trousers and a tight black top. She packed her bag with all the tools she's need to break in and pulled a length of rope over he shoulders. She was well and truly prepared to do a little breaking and entering.

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She watched the house from across the street as soon as dark fell that night. To the uneducated observer they would seem to be a perfectly normal family. She saw that he lived with a woman and another man; something Meg had conveniently forgotten to tell her. Bela watched as they ate dinner; fed the sweet little baby and put her to bed. She then watched as they watched television and chatted about their day; she just assumed that's what they were talking about, she wasn't totally sure. She sat and waited until they had all gone to bed and all the lights had gone out. She waited for a while and saw the light go on about an hour later as Dean made his way downstairs with his daughter. He soon went back up the stairs though and once she was sure that everyone was asleep, she made her move.

She quietly sneaked into the house; picking the lock to the back door and silently slipped inside. She took a moment to study the layout of the small house before she started to look for any sign of the gun as hidden. She noticed that the taller of the two men was fast asleep on the sofa so she would have to be extra quiet. Bela moved over to the cabinet in the living room and rifled through the drawers. She didn't expect to find the gun there but there may have been a clue to its whereabouts.

She stopped dead when she heard Sam stir in his sleep. Terrified that he might wake up; Bela crouched down and hid in the dark near the cabinet. She hardly dared to breathe until she was sure that he wasn't going to wake up. Once she was certain; she began to move when she noticed something behind the cabinet. There was a symbol painted on the wall and she smiled; that's how he was keeping himself hidden. Bela finished looking around the living room and had found nothing of any value. The gun obviously wasn't here; she was going to have to do more research to find it.

Bela made her way back into the kitchen and prepared to leave. She made sure there was no trace of her presence and sneaked to the door in the dark. She had just placed her hand on the door handle when she felt an arm around her neck and a knife to her throat.

"What are you doing here?" Dean growled with a menace that made her heart leap into her mouth.

"I can explain," she whispered.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Here's chapter Five**

**Chapter Five**

It had been an ordinary day; nothing unusual had happened. Dean had gone off to work that morning; spent the day working on cars and came home to his family in the evening. He sat and listened to Sam as he told him about his efforts to find a job; which wasn't going so well since he really couldn't explain his activities for the last two years.

"It was embarrassing," he laughed, "I couldn't think up a plausible explanation as to why I hadn't been working for so long. I mean I couldn't say I was brainwashed by a bunch of demons who wanted me to lead their army could I?"

"Can't say that would have helped you any," Dean smiled and patted his brother on the shoulder. "Though you would've gotten a very nice room at the mental hospital if you had said that."

"Hell, maybe that would be the best place for me," Sam said quietly.

"Don't ever say that Sam," Dean warned.

"Why not? Maybe prison would be better; I did kill all those people."

"Sam, you need to be somewhere safe where the demons can't get to you. They're still out there and they still want you."

"I know," Sam told him; his eyes unable to meet his brother's. "It's just… I feel so guilty and I need to make amends but I can't… I can't ever make it right so maybe it would be better if I turned myself into the police. Maybe it would've been better if I'd never been saved."

Dean felt his anger growing inside him at what Sam was saying. "Sam, no; don't ever say anything like that again. I won't hear it."

"But you must have thought it, Dean."

"I never thought that, never," he told Sam. "This last year; all I wanted was for you to be alive so I could talk to you again and tell you that I'm sorry."

"What do you have to be sorry for Dean? You never did anything wrong. All you did was try to save me."

"I wanted to say I was sorry because I failed you."

"You didn't fail me Dean," Sam was surprised by what Dean was saying. "You could never fail me. I'm the one that failed you," Sam said as Dean looked up and stared him in the face. "I hurt you so bad; I tried to kill you so many times and you never gave up on me. You saved me Dean. If it hadn't been for you then I would still be with those demons killing people and leading a war that I really want no part of."

"Oh God, this has totally turned into a chick flick moment," Dean groaned. Sam gave a small laugh.

"Yeah, well; it had to happen sometime."

"Can we stop now?"

"Sure we can stop."

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After Dinner Sam busied himself on the computer trying to find himself a job leaving Dean and Jess alone with their daughter. Dean sat on the sofa cuddling Mary with Jess curled up next to him.

"How is she?" Jess asked.

"She's good," Dean smiled down at his little girl. "She's almost asleep; nearly time for bed; isn't it baby girl?"

"Good," Jess smiled and leaned in to kiss Dean gently on the lips. "This is nice," she told him.

"Yeah it is," Dean admitted and kissed her back.

"How are you, really?" Jess asked him; noticing he had been a little quiet after his earlier conversation with Sam.

"I'm okay," he told her and she stared at him. "Really, I am."

"You just seemed a little quiet earlier."

"I know but its okay. Everything's fine."

"You sure?"

"Yes I'm sure. I just want to enjoy time with my family right now."

"That sounds like a good plan," Jess smiled and kissed him again. Dean lost himself in the kiss for several minutes before pulling away.

"Time for bed, sweetie," he said softly to Mary. She didn't make a sound; just shoved a fist into her mouth and fell fast asleep. Dean laughed softly. "Look at her; not a care in the world."

"She looks so peaceful," Jess rested her hand on Mary's head. "So beautiful."

"Just like her mother," he kissed her again before standing up and making his way to the bedroom.

Sam was sat on the bed in front of the computer when Dean entered. "Hey," he said looking up from the screen.

"You find anything?" Dean asked as he placed Mary in her cot.

"Nothing so far but I'm not giving up that easily," he said closing the computer.

"And that's why you're stopping?"

Sam laughed, "I'm tired; I just wanna get some sleep."

"Yeah, I hear ya," Dean replied; stroking his daughter's head as she settled. "I'm just about ready to turn in myself."

"What happened to the Dean that could stay out all night drinking?"

"He actually got a real job," Dean replied as he collapsed on the bed next to his brother.

"Poor you," Sam laughed.

"Yeah, poor me," Dean joined in the laughing; crossing his legs underneath him and folding his arms. "I sure got it hard."

"I can tell. Gorgeous girlfriend, beautiful daughter; extremely handsome brother; how does it feel to be the ugly one?"

"Hey," Dean reached out and playfully slapped Sam on the arm. "I am not the ugly one; that would be you; little brother. Along with delusional too."

"You just keep telling yourself that and maybe one day it'll be true," Sam laughed and stood up off the bed. "See ya tomorrow, dude."

"Night Sammy," Dean said and Sam smiled. He had missed that nickname a lot while he'd been gone. It was a symbol of the innocence he'd once had. Innocence he didn't have anymore.

Sam left the room and Dean settled down on the bed and a moment later Jessica joined him.

"Mary okay?" She asked lying down next to him.

"Mary's fine," he told her as she threw the blanket over them and snuggled into his chest. "Night, sweetheart," he whispered into her hair and kissed her temple.

"Night Dean," she replied."

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The first time Dean woke up that night was because Mary was hungry. After he'd fed and changed her and looked in on Sam to check he hadn't been woken; he went back to bed and fell into a light sleep. The second time he woke up was because there was someone in the house.

He cautiously climbed out of bed and pulled on some clothes before silently making his way down the stairs; remembering everything his father had taught him. He was going to make sure that whoever it was in his house did not know he was there until he was ready for them to know.

He crept into the kitchen and saw a dark, shadowy figure at the door. Whoever it was they were planning to leave. They didn't know he was there. He picked up a knife lying on the kitchen worktop and sneaked up behind her. He wrapped his arm around her throat; knife pressing into her skin and growled, "What are you doing here?"

"I can explain," he voice was quiet and shaky. She raised her hands in surrender, "just let me go."

"Why would I want to do that?" His voice was still low and menacing; he wasn't going to let her go especially when he had his suspicions about who she worked for.

"Just put the knife down and I will tell you everything."

"Which demon are you working for?" He asked; cutting to the chase.

"I don't know; I didn't get a name."

"Then what did they want you to do?"

"They wanted me to steal something from you," she told him. "They are paying me a hell of a lot of money to find a gun."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

"Did they tell you about this gun?"

"No, all they told me was that it was a gun. They didn't even tell me what type of gun it was."

"You won't find any gun here," he said to her as he released his hold on her neck. "We got rid of all the guns."

"When your daughter was born?"

"How did you know about?"

"I do my research," she said as she turned to face him; looking at him as if he was stupid. "I'm not incompetent."

"Yeah and that's why you got caught," he smirked; still having the upper hand. "I know which demon sent you and I know exactly which gun she wants so you can go back to her and tell her that I don't have it."

"The where is it?"

"I'm not going to tell you but it isn't in this house because I am not stupid enough to leave it lying around just anywhere."

"If it's that important then why don't you tell me about it?"

"Because I'm not stupid. I thought we already covered this," he looked at her as if she was stupid this time.

"Fine don't tell me but if you don't then I will go back to the demon and tell her exactly how to find you," she said and smiled as Dean's face fell. "That's right; I saw the symbols on your walls. They hide your presence from the demons don't they?"

Dean sighed and realised he would have to tell her something

"Why do they want this gun so much?"

"They want it so they can unleash an army of demons on the world and I am not gonna let that happen."

"I can see why," she commented. "I'll tell them that you don't have it and I don't know where it is. Wherever you have hidden it the spirits don't seem to know so I'm guessing your using those symbols to protect it."

"Then you'd think right. Now get out of here or I will call the cops," he threatened; his eyes growing dark. "If I ever see you here again I will not hesitate to kill you, do you understand?"

Bela swallowed hard, realising he meant everything he said and she suddenly felt very afraid.

"I'm going," she told him and gripped the handle of the back door. She opened it and hurried out.

"Who was that?" A voice came from behind Dean. It was Sam and he sounded as if he had just woken up.

"I have no idea but she was after the Colt," he told his brother. "I have to make a phone call."

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"What do you want at this time of the morning?" Bobby asked down the phone; slightly annoyed at being woken at this ungodly hour of the morning.

Jess had woken up too; shortly after Bela had left and now she, Sam and Dean were in the living room; Jess curled up on the sofa and Dean pacing the floor restlessly trying to get answers from Bobby.

"Some woman just tried to break into the house looking for the Colt."

"I thought demons couldn't find you," Bobby said.

"She wasn't a demon; she was a hired gun. She's human and I wanna know who she is."

"What can you tell me about her?"

"She's English; early to mid twenties, longish brown hair and she's a thief."

"You already said the last one but she sounds like Bela Talbot."

"Who?"

"She's a high class thief, mostly deals with rich clients who want supernatural objects."

"You know her?"

"I've dealt with her a couple of times."

"Will she tell the demons where we are?" Dean needed to know.

"Only if the money is good enough."

"So if they pay her enough then she'll tell them?"

"Probably."

"Thanks Bobby," he said and hung up. "We have a problem," he told Sam and Jess.

"What is it?"

"The woman who broke in is a thief called Bela Talbot. They hired her to steal the Colt," he scratched his head as he spoke.

"Why is that a problem?" Sam asked.

"She knows where we are and Bobby says that if the money is good enough then she'll probably tell them where we are."

"So we need to track her down before she tells them?"

"Exactly."

"How do we do that?" Sam asked him. Dean just stood there trying to come up with an answer.

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"What do you mean he doesn't have the gun?" Meg asked Bela. She was furious that she had failed to find it and was on the verge of snapping her annoying little neck.

"He doesn't have it," Bela repeated. "I don't know how many more ways I can say it to you. I looked all over that house and it wasn't there."

"Did he tell you to say that?"

"No," Bela smirked. "He told me to tell you that he wasn't stupid enough to just leave it lying around anywhere. It's not in the house and he has it pretty well hidden. I don't know what else I can tell you."

"I am one second away from killing you unless you tell me something of any worth."

"How about I know exactly where he is and the reason why you can't find him," she smirked again, stood up and made her way to the door.

"Then why don't you tell me?"

"Because you're not paying me nearly enough to tell you," she told her.

"I could just kill you," Meg told her; becoming increasingly agitated.

"Then you'll never find out where he is," she smiled; knowing she had the upper hand this time. She had no intention of telling them where to find Dean and Sam. "Besides; it's not like I have long left; my time is nearly up," she said as she opened the door and walked out, not bothering to look back on a very angry looking demon.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry this wasn't posted on Thursday but I've been having some computer problems. My brother opened an e-mail and flooded it with viruses (so we should all bow down to the bloke who works with my dad who fixed it without having to wie anything). Anyway, I'm not happy with this chapter but it just kept expanding so I'm posting it before i change anymore of it.**

**Chapter Six**

"Are you sure this is the place?" Sam asked Dean as they stood outside the door of a very nice hotel.

"Bobby's sure," Dean replied.

"Okay then," Sam said as he bent down to unlock the door. "It feels good doing this again."

"What?"

"Breaking and entering. I never realised how much I missed it, got it," he said as the lock clicked. He stood up and pushed the door open. They entered the room but Bela wasn't there.

"Nice place," Dean commented as he began to rifle through her things. He picked up a wig and stared at it before he threw it aside and continued to search. "You find anything?" He asked Sam.

"Apart from a lot of fake IDs not a lot," he replied. "What about you?"

"Wigs and a very impressive underwear collection," Dean grinned and Sam just shook his head.

"Something's never change," he laughed.

"Are you looking for something?" A female voice came from behind them and they both froze. "Only I don't appreciate random strangers going through my underwear drawer."

"I could say the same thing about strangers breaking into my house," Dean told her as he turned around to face her.

"Touché," she replied. "So why are you here?"

"Just getting the lay of the land," Sam told her; holding his ground. "We want to know if you're gonna betray us."

"I'm not going to betray you. If I were then you'd already be dead."

"Then why aren't you?" Dean asked.

"I have my reasons," she told him.

"And they would be?" Dean asked, wanting to know why she wasn't going to sell them out.

"I'm not going to tell you."

"You have something planned, don't you?"

"I may do," she cryptically replied. "But then I wouldn't tell you would I?"

"But you won't tell the demons where we are?" Sam asked once more for clarification.

"As long as I live I will not tell them," she promised. "You can leave now," she dismissed them as she opened the door for them to exit.

"Do you trust her?" Sam asked as the door closed behind them.

"Not at all," Dean replied. "We need to keep an eye on her."

"Agreed."

Later; back at the house they sat down and discussed things with Bobby and Jess.

"Do you think she'll tell?" Jess asked them; very wary of Bela's motives and worried that there would be serious repercussions because of her little visit.

"She said that she wouldn't but I'm not going to trust her," Dean replied.

"Bela's a thief; if they pay her enough then she might tell 'em," Bobby explained. "Then again she probably thinks that she can get more money if she finds it and sells it herself."

"So she's definitely a threat?" Sam asked and Bobby nodded. "Then we need to keep an eye on her."

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"How are you holding up?" Sam asked Jess later. She had been quiet since Bobby had left and eventually had shut herself in the kitchen.

"I'm fine," she smiled softly. "I'm just worried."

"You don't have to be, we can deal with this," he tried to calm her fears.

"I know but I'm worried about what's going to happen if they find us. I'm worried about what will happen to Mary."

"Nothing will happen to Mary; Dean's not gonna let it happen; Bobby's not gonna let it happen and I'm not gonna let it happen. They might find us; I don't know, but even if they do then we'll fight. We won't let them win."

"Thank you," Jess said to him and gave him a quick hug.

"For what?" Sam asked; sounding slightly confused.

"Thank you because now I know that I can trust you. I know that you're not going to turn on us again."

"Thank you for trusting me," Sam replied and smiled.

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_**Six Months Later**_

Six months had passed and nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Bela hadn't ratted them out; the demons hadn't found them or the Colt and life had settled somewhat.

Mary had grown so big; Dean observed as he watched her sitting in her playpen laughing happily as she banged on her toy drum. She was beautiful; her hair had come in a golden blonde colour, just like Jess' but she had Dean's eyes. They were big and green and so full of the emotion that she might never be able to express physically like her father.

Sam had found a job. It wasn't the greatest job in the world; just working in a supermarket but it was better than nothing. He seemed happy enough to be working there; it gave him something to do so he didn't feel as useless as he had when he'd been unemployed.

Dean was happy that Sam was happy. There was nothing worse in the world than watching his baby brother feel miserable and useless. He no longer moped around the house; his head hung low. Maybe he was starting to forget all the bad things he had done and was concentrating on moving forward with his life.

"Come on sweetheart," Dean smiled as he kneeled down and picked his daughter up and held her in his arms. She giggled and grabbed hold of his amulet. "Okay, sweetie, let go of daddy's necklace," he said to her as he gently pulled it out of her hands.

"Hey," Sam greeted him as he walked into the living room.

"Hey," Dean smiled. "You feel like going for a walk?"

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Dean and Sam took Mary to the park which garnered a lot of funny looks from people. Sam looked worried but Dean just laughed it off.

"Don't worry; they're not demons, they just think we're gay."

"That's what worries me," he replied.

"Just ignore them. It's not like they're gonna do anything," he said as he stopped Mary's pushchair next to a bench and sat down. Sam joined him a second later. "That girl is staring at you," Dean smiled and pointed at a woman who was sat by a tree.

"What?" Sam asked surprised. "She is not. I've seen her at the store; she probably just recognises me from there."

"She is totally checking you out. You should go over and talk to her," Dean insisted.

"I am not going to go over and talk to a woman I don't even know."

"But you know of her. Besides you don't have to," Dean grinned.

"Why not?"

"'Cos she's comin' over here," he told him as the woman came closer. "Hi," Dean grinned and greeted the girl.

"Hi," she smiled. "What a sweet little baby," she told him.

"Yeah she is," Dean said. "But that's not the reason why you came over. You came over because you wanna talk to my brother so I'm going to get out of your way," he said as he stood up. Mouthing 'good luck' to Sam; he pushed Mary away leaving his brother feeling very uncomfortable.

"Wow, he reads people pretty well," the girl smiled shyly.

"That or he's always trying to set me up with women."

"He do that a lot?"

"All the time," Sam laughed.

"I'm Lennie by the way," she held out her hand and Sam shook it. "I've seen you around. You work at that store on Oak Street."

"Yeah I do, I'm Sam," he replied.

"So Sam, I've been wanting to ask you out on a date for a while now and I don't know if I should in case you say no. Is asking you a good idea?"

"I think that if you were to ask me out then I wouldn't say no," Sam replied; giving her a small but encouraging smile.

"Well then, Sam would you like to go out with me?"

"I would like that."

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Dean stood and watched Sam talk to the girl from a distance while pretending to be busy with Mary. He picked her up and held her in his arms.

"Do you think that Sam will ask her out or will he bottle it?" He asked her but she just giggled in response. "Yeah me too," he smiled. He watched as the girl smiled and walked away so he grabbed hold of the pushchair and went back over to Sam. "So?" He asked.

"She asked me out."

"And you said?" Dean really wanted to know.

"I said yes," Sam told him and Dean grinned. "We're going out tomorrow night."

"That's great Sammy. Where are you going?"

"We're gonna go out for dinner."

"I didn't know you had it in ya," Dean continued grinning.

"Stop grinning; it's creepy."

"No," Dean said; still smiling. "Come on, we'd better get going," he told him. Sam stood up and they both headed home.

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"So how do you think his date's going?" Dean asked Jess the next night. Sam had left an hour earlier to pick Lennie up so they could go out to dinner together.

"I don't know," she replied as she shifted on the sofa so she was curled up in Dean's arms. "How do you think its going?"

"I think that Sam is sitting uncomfortably trying to think of something to say but failing miserably."

Jess had to laugh, "You know your brother far too well."

"He's always been bad at talking to girls. He gets all tongue tied and he goes red."

"That's true considering how long it took him to ask me out." Dean gave her a smile but he soon let it slip. He became quiet. "What's wrong?" She asked him.

"It's nothing really," he sighed.

"Tell me," she urged gently.

"You know we never had a first date?" Dean elaborated; fiddling with the ring on his right ring finger.

"You're right," Jess quietly replied. "We were so caught up in searching for Sam that we never even did that. We should have one," she suggested.

"What?" Dean asked; a hint of disbelief in his voice.

"We should have a first date."

"It's a little late for that don't you think?"

"No, it'll be fun," she insisted. "We can go out; have dinner, go and see a movie or whatever."

"We haven't had a night out in a while. We could get Sam to look after Mary," Dean suggested.

"Yeah maybe," Jess replied with a little less enthusiasm.

"Don't tell me you still don't trust him," Dean picked up on her change in demeanour.

"It's not that I don't trust him because I do."

"Then what is it?"

"I don't trust him with Mary," she told Dean who just stared at her until she elaborated. "He's just never looked after her by himself before."

"He'll do great," Dean assured her. "He loves her."

"But can he look after her?" Jess fretted.

"Look, this is just because you're worried about leaving her for a night but Sam is perfectly capable of looking after her."

"I know," she sighed and rested her head back on Dean's chest. "I just want to make sure."

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Sam was nervous. He hadn't been on a date in so long he was surprised he could even remember what to do. Dean had let him borrow the Impala so he could pick Lennie up and take her to the restaurant. They had been sitting in an uncomfortable silence for the last ten minutes; Sam just had no idea how to strike up a conversation.

"Would you like some water?" He asked her.

"That would be nice," she smiled; just glad that he had finally speaking. Sam reached out to pick up the water jug but instead he knocked it over; spilling the contents onto Lennie who jumped up.

"I'm sorry," he apologised profusely; feeling exceptionally embarrassed at what he had just done.

"It's okay," she told him as she reached for some napkins to dry herself off with.

"I'm just…"

"Nervous?" She finished. "I can see; don't worry about it," she said as she sat back down.

"I suck at this," he laughed. "I haven't been on a date in so long," he admitted.

"I can tell," she smiled at Sam. "Don't try so hard; just go with it."

"I'll try," he promised.

The evening got better as it wore on; Sam felt himself begin to relax and he began to enjoy himself more.

"How long have you worked at the store?" Lennie asked him.

"Not long," he told her. "I must look like a complete loser."

"Why's that?"

"Because I'm a college dropout in a minimum wage job sleeping on his older brother's sofa because I can't afford to live anywhere else," Sam laughed and Lennie joined in.

"Okay, you're a loser," she joked, "But you're a cute loser."

"Thanks," Sam pretended to be offended but he laughed.

"Lennie?" They heard someone call out Lennie's name. She turned and saw a man walking over to them. She smiled and waved at him.

"Billy," she happily greeted him. "Sam this is Billy; we go way back, Billy this is Sam." she introduced them.

"So you finally asked him out then?" Billy asked and Lennie turned red. "She's being dying to ask you out for weeks now."

"Billy, don't make me sound desperate," she playfully swatted his arm.

"Oh I could never do that," he grinned. "Anyway; I'd better leave the pair of you alone to enjoy the rest of your date. I'll see you later," he said to Lennie before he turned and left.

"He seems nice," Sam commented.

"I've known him since we were kids," she explained. "He's a good guy. Embarrasses the hell out of me though."

"I have a brother to do that," Sam laughed.

"It's probably God's way of getting me back for being an only child," Lennie joked. "He is like my brother. Anyway, enough of that," she changed the topic; "I've had a great time tonight."

"Really?" Sam sounded a little surprised. "Even being soaked?"

"Even being soaked," Lennie repeated; nodding her head, a smile on her face. "Billy was right; I have wanted to ask you out so many times."

"Then why didn't you?" Sam asked; his curiosity piqued.

"I was afraid," Lennie admitted. "You always seemed so intense I guess I just thought you wouldn't want to know me."

"Intense? I don't look intense do I?"

"Yes," she said back in reply. "You always looked so deep in thought."

Sam shyly looked down at the table and began to fiddle nervously with a breadstick; he didn't know what to say next.

"I'm sorry," Lennie apologised. "I shouldn't have said that."

"It's okay," Sam replied. "I guess I'm just not used to anyone liking me anymore."

"Why's that?"

"It's a long story," Sam told her.

"That you can' bring yourself to tell me just yet? That's okay; I won't pry if you don't want me to."

"Thanks," Sam was glad she didn't take it further. "I'd like to go out with you again," he told her.

"You would?" Lennie asked; sounding a little surprised but very happy.

"Yeah," he affirmed.

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Sam was feeling happy. He had just dropped Lennie off at her home and he'd given her a kiss but hadn't taken it any further. He was glad he'd accepted his offer of a second date. He made his way back to the car when he stopped. He had the feeling that someone was following him. He strained his ears; trying to pick up any sounds but there was nothing. Shaking it off; he hurried back to the Impala and tried to forget about it.

But he couldn't shake off the feeling that he was being watched; in fact it increased further the closer he drove to home. By the time he stopped the car outside the house he was feeling extremely paranoid. He quickly locked the car and hurried inside. Dean was still awake; sitting on the sofa watching a film.

"How was your date?" He asked.

"It was great," Sam replied; distracted by his unease.

"Sounds like it," Dean commented and Sam shook his head.

"The date was fine but I'm getting the feeling that someone's watching me."

"What?" Dean suddenly felt very worried; thinking that the demons may have found them at last.

"I dropped Lennie off at home and I got the feeling that someone was watching me but there's no-one there," he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Maybe I'm just being stupid."

"I don't care; I'm going to take a look around to be sure," Dean told him and pulled on his boots. He disappeared out the front door; leaving Sam to stand nervously by the window until he returned. "There's nothing out there," he said to his brother upon his return. "Are you sure you felt someone?"

"Yes," Sam insisted. "I'm not making this up."

"Then we need to be on our guard," Dean replied as he locked the door before checking that every symbol was still in place. He then drew salt lines around all the doors and windows to be safe. "So," he said to Sam after he finished. "Tell me about your date then."


	7. Chapter 7

New Chapter Time and I have a question for all you faithful readers. What do you want to happen to Lennie? I have two endings for her; in the first she lives and is happy with Sam and in the second she dies. Which would you prefer happen? Personally I would go for the death but that's just cos I like killing off characters

**Chapter Seven**

"This is not good," Meg exclaimed. It really hadn't been the best of weeks for her and this was just the icing on the cake. "This is really not good."

"What is it?" Another demon asked; curious to know why she was so aggravated.

"None of your business," she snapped; giving him a murderous look and the demon stepped back. "Get the hell out," she told him and he quickly made his exit. After he had disappeared and closed the door; Meg collapsed back into her seat and gave an audible sigh.

The latest news really wasn't great. She still had no idea where to find the Colt and without it her plans would be permanently scuppered. She had been hearing rumours of rival factions building for months but they had remained rumours. Now there was definitely one growing and it worried her. It was being organised by Lilith. Meg knew that if Lilith were to organise an army big enough then there was no way she'd be able to stop her. She was far too powerful. Meg needed to make sure they found the Colt and quickly.

She wanted to make Dean and Sam suffer; especially Sam for betraying her. She wanted to rip the flesh from their bodies; she wanted to hear the pained screams they cried as she slowly tortured them to death but most of all she wanted them to know intense agony. She wondered which one she would kill first. Dean would hate to see his brother die since he was the older brother who wanted to protect his baby brother as much as he could and he had just found him again after he had thought Sam had been dead. Sam, on the other hand; would be fun to observe if Dean were to die first. Also it would make his suffering even greater which was an extra added bonus. Yes; she would kill Dean first and make Sam watch.

But first she needed to find the Colt.

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"So why are we babysitting again?" Lennie asked Sam as she sat down on the sofa. He had called her earlier and asked her to come over while he looked after Mary for the evening. She had accepted; simply glad that he had called her. Sam was in the process of putting on a movie when she asked. He looked up from the DVD player and raised his eyebrows as he answered her question.

"Because Dean and Jess wanted to go on their 'first date'," he explained to her; giving a small smile as she looked very confused.

"I don't get it," she told him. "They have a baby and they're only just going on their first date?"

"Yeah," Sam replied with laughter in his voice.

"You're gonna have to explain that one to me because it's just making no sense," she said.

"It's simple really. When Dean and Jess got together it was a really complicated time so they never had the chance to have a first date."

"How was it complicated?" Lennie asked; genuinely interested in finding out more about this quirky family of Sam's.

"Do you really wanna know?" He asked as he sat down next to her on the sofa.

"Why is it bad?"

"Maybe," Sam told her but offered no other information.

"I want to know," She said firmly.

Sam paused for a moment wondering how much of the truth he could tell her and how much would have to be lies. After taking a moment he sighed, "A few years ago I used to date Jess," he explained.

"You did?"

"Yeah but we broke up."

"Why did you two break up?" Lennie asked.

"We broke up because I was going through a hard time and I took of for a while; got into a bit of trouble and Dean and Jess went looking for me."

"What do you mean by a bit of trouble?" Lennie asked; her brow furrowed. She was worried it was something really bad.

"I met this… woman," he finally decided on; unable to tell her that Meg was a demon. "And she was no good for me; she played me for two years until I finally had enough and left."

"Who was this woman?"

"I met her just after I ran away," he sighed, "And she sucked me into her world. She made me promises that sounded so good that I fell for it and she dragged me down to her evil level."

"She was that bad?" Lennie sounded surprised. She ran her fingers through her hair before she tucked a loose strand behind her ear and waited for Sam to continue.

"She was really bad. Dean tried to tell me that she was no good for me but I just wouldn't listen to him. I ruined my relationship with Jess and I almost destroyed my relationship with Dean."

"What changed?"

"I found out that she was playing me and I got angry so I left. I went to see Dean and he forgave me."

"So how do you feel about your brother being in a relationship with your ex? It's gotta be hard, right?"

"It was at first. When I first found out that they were together it made me angry and it's one of the reasons I stayed with Meg for so long but I accepted it. It's not like I had any right to object about it. Besides they have Mary and they're happy."

"So it doesn't bother you?"

"No," Sam shook his head wondering why she was asking him this. "Why do you asking me this?"

"I just wanna know," she replied; suddenly feeling very shy, she looked down at the floor as she was unable to meet his gaze. "I like you," she finally admitted.

"I like you to," Sam smiled softly; resting his hand on her cheek he stroked it gently until she raised her head and met his eye.

"I've liked you from the moment I first saw you," she told him. "Like I said the other night there was something about you and it drew me in. I guess I just wanted to know if I was wasting my time or not."

"You're not wasting your time," Sam replied. "I really do like you as you could probably tell from the absolute idiot I made of myself the other night," he laughed.

"That was you making an idiot of yourself?" Lennie joked, "I thought you were always like that."

Sam laughed and pretended to be offended by her comment. "Oh thanks," he said in mock offence. "I'm not sure if I should take kindly to that or not."

"I don't know," she smiled and leaned in close to him, "I think it's kinda sweet," she told him as she placed a soft kiss on his lips. Sam rested his hand on her cheek and returned the kiss. They sat like that for several minutes until they were interrupted by the sound of Mary's cries.

"I'd better go and check on her," Sam explained as he stood up and made his way upstairs. He returned a moment later carrying Mary in his arms.

"How is she?" Lennie asked.

"She's okay, just a little cranky," he replied. "She's just gonna hang out here until she goes back to sleep if that's okay with you."

"That's fine," she smiled as Sam sat back down next to her and she rested her hand on Mary's head. "I don't think that the movie is very appropriate for Mary."

"No, I don't think that Jess would appreciate me showing her daughter a zombie movie," he agreed. "We'll have to find something else, won't we?" He said to Mary and picked up another DVD. "What about the Exorcist? No? Okay I'm sure we can stretch to Dumbo," he said and inserted the movie. He sat back down with Mary still in his arms and Lennie rested her head on his shoulder as she settled down to watch the film.

Mary fell asleep about a quarter of the way through the film so Sam took her back to bed; taking a moment to look at the sleeping child. She looked so innocent and peaceful when she was asleep. On one hand it made him so happy that she didn't know anything about any of the bad things in the world that had destroyed his childhood and driven his father on a mission for revenge that had ended with Sam joining the side he'd spent his whole life fighting against. On the other hand he was scared; terrified that something bad was going to happen. There had been no word of demonic activity for months now and there was this feeling in the pit of Sam's stomach that said it couldn't be long before they found out where they were and tried to kill them. Sam was going to die before he let them hurt his little niece. He would do anything to protect her.

"Are you okay?" He heard a voice come from behind him. "You've been gone a while and I just wondered what you were doing."

"Yeah I'm fine," he told Lennie as he turned around to meet her eyes. She stood there nervously; tucking a loose strand of her brown hair behind her ear. Sam had noticed she always did that when she was nervous. "I was just watching her sleep," he explained; smiling at her. He took a step towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist before pulling her in and kissing her softly on the lips. "Let's go and watch the movie," he said to her as he led her back down the stairs.

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"I had fun tonight," Dean said to Jess as they returned home from their evening out.

"Me too," Jess smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "It was a very good first date," she grinned.

"Yeah well better late than never," Dean replied and Jess nodded her head.

"Also it had the added bonus of seeing you all dressed up. Since we stopped hunting I never see you in a suit anymore."

"Oh, so that's what floats your boat is it?" Dean grinned seductively; pulling on the knot of his tie. "You know the night doesn't have to end here."

"Why Mr. Winchester are you trying to seduce me?" Jess giggled.

"Yes Ms. Moore I am," he leaned in and kissed her; making it last for several minutes; wrapping his arms around her slender waist and pulling her in tight. After a while he pulled away and unlocked the door before taking her hand and stepping inside. "I wonder if Sam had fun," he asked quietly.

"I think he had a lot of fun," Jess whispered back and pointed towards the living room where Sam and Lennie were sitting on the sofa completely engrossed in each other. They hadn't even noticed Dean and Jess had returned home. "You tell them we're home; I'll check on Mary and I'll meet you upstairs in ten minutes," she smiled and climbed the stairs. Dean walked into the living room and spoke loudly to gain their attention.

"How's Mary been?" He asked and they both pulled apart from each other with a shocked expression on their faces.

"Dean," Sam greeted his brother. "I wasn't expecting you back so soon."

"It's eleven," Dean told him.

"It is? Wow, where does the time go?"

"I think you were a little too preoccupied to think about the time," Dean smirked. "You two had better have been good; I don't want anything untoward going on in my house. Well on my sofa," he had to smile at Sam's slightly guilty expression.

"Nothing happened," he replied a little too quickly.

"Whatever; I'm going to bed. You crazy kids better not stay up too late," he jokingly instructed as he turned around. "Good night."

Sam smiled at Lennie as Dean left the room and made his way upstairs. "I'd better go," she told him and reached for her jacket.

"That's probably a good idea."

"You'll call me?" She asked; giving him another kiss.

"I will," he said softly; pressing his lips against hers. Lennie stood up from the sofa.

"I'll see you soon," she told him and smiled before she left. Sam lay back on the sofa and rested his head on the cushion. He smiled broadly. Life felt good.

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"I knew humans would come in handy someday," Meg grinned maliciously. "They do have their uses. "Now you're going to tell me everything you know."

The man who stood before her was Billy; Lennie's friend. "I met Sam in a restaurant; he was on a date with my friend so I followed him back to his house."

"So you know exactly where he lives?" Meg couldn't believe her luck. After months of searching she had finally discovered the whereabouts of the Winchester's and it was all by pure luck.

"I do," he told her.

"Where is it?" She asked and gestured for him to point it out on a map.

"There," he said; resting his finger on the street where they lived and smiled.

"Jealousy is an amazing thing don't you think?" Meg said to him.

"I don't know what you mean," he replied; his voice puzzled.

"You thought that by telling us where to find Sam that you would finally have a chance with Lennie. That maybe she would stop seeing you as a friend but as something more. That's never going to happen."

"Why not?" He nervously asked.

"Because you won't live long enough," she explained and stuck a knife into his heart. He grunted in pain as she pulled the knife from his chest and he fell to the floor. "Idiot," she said to his lifeless corpse and stepped over it. "Come on we have work to do," she told her fellow demons.

She had to work quickly if she wanted to stay in charge.


	8. Chapter 8

**New Chapter time. We're nearly half way through the story and the action is just about to start.**

Chapter Eight

"What are you doing?" Sam asked Dean as he walked into the room. Dean was sat on the floor in the living room with a screwdriver in his mouth.

"I'm baby proofing the house," he explained; removing the screwdriver from between his teeth. "Mary's going to be crawling soon and I should have done this ages ago."

"Can I help?" Sam offered but Dean just laughed.

"Thanks but no thanks; I've seen your work with a screwdriver."

"I'm not that bad," Sam exclaimed.

"Yes you are," Dean retorted. "I saw the things you made in shop class when you were a teenager. What was that thing supposed to be again?"

"It was a bird feeder."

"Looked like a bird death trap if you ask me," Dean teased. "Face it Sammy; you suck at this sort of stuff."

"Fine; then I'll just sit and watch you," he told his brother as he picked Mary up from her play pen and sat down on the sofa; bouncing her on his knee.

"You do that," Dean replied as he continued to work. They at in silence for several minutes with only Mary's happy giggles to fill the air before Sam finally asked Dean something.

"Hey Dean, can I ask you something?" He asked.

"Sure," Dean looked up from his work, "What is it?"

"Are you worried about the lack on demonic activity?"

"Not really, are you?"

"It's just that no-one's heard anything recently; not even Bobby and I thought that they might be planning something."

"Are you having visions again?"

"No," Sam shook his head, "Nothing like that. I just have this feeling in my stomach."

"It isn't indigestion?" Dean joked to relieve the tension a little. It didn't work and Sam just stared at him. "I'm sure it's nothing but if you're that worried we can step up protection a little."

"Thanks," Sam said.

"No problem," Dean said. "So how are things with you and Lennie," he changed the subject.

"Things are great," Sam told him; a smile automatically appeared on his face as it always did when he thought about her.

"You looked like you were having fun last night."

"She's great," Sam said. "She makes me feel happy."

"That's great; you deserve some happiness. Sam can I ask you something?"

"Yeah go ahead."

"I just wanted to ask you first because I just wanna know how you feel about it."

"I can't tell you how I feel about it if you don't actually tell me what it is you know," Sam joked but Dean just looked very nervous. He stood up and pulled something out of his pocket.

"What do you think about this?" He asked as he handed it to Sam. It was a box. Sam opened it and saw a diamond ring inside.

"Wow," Sam exclaimed. "I'm flattered but you're just not my type," he laughed.

"Jerk," Dean said to him and slapped his arm. "It's for Jess."

"You're gonna propose?"

"Yeah," he nervously told his brother. "I just wanted to know what you thought about it."

"I think it's great," Sam happily replied.

"Really? I just thought what with all your history with her…"

"Dean," Sam interrupted. "I will always be happy for you whatever you do. And you deserve to happy too. When are you going to ask her?"

"I don't know yet I haven't decided. I thought maybe at the weekend. I was gonna make her dinner."

"If you need me to be out of the way for the night then I can totally do that," Sam offered.

"Thanks," Dean smiled. "And thanks for being great about this."

"Anytime," Sam smiled back. "How about that?" He said to Mary, "Your daddy's gonna ask your mommy to marry him. Isn't that great?" Mary giggled in response. "I think she approves."

"I think she does too," Dean agreed and placed a kiss on his daughter's head.

"Approves of what?" Jess asked; entering the room and joining the conversation at the very end.

"Uh…" Dean struggled to think up a reply, "Approves of the locks I put on the cabinets," he eventually decided on but Jess wasn't sure she completely believed him.

"Okay," she simply said and moved across the room to Sam and took Mary in her arms. "Is daddy and uncle Sam keeping secrets from me?" She said to Mary who just continued to giggle.

"You won't get anything out of her; she's sworn to secrecy," Dean explained with a grin on his face and gave her a kiss.

"Oh I see; she's in on it as well is she?"

"You're just gonna have to wait and find out," Dean replied cryptically as Jess pretended to pout.

"I will find out," she told him.

"I'm sure you will. Where've you been anyway?"

"I just went to the store to pick up a few things. And I got a phone call from an old friend."

"You did?"

"Yeah she's in town and asked if I wanted to meet up with her tonight."

"Cool," Dean told her. "Sounds good; have fun."

"You don't mind?"

"Why would I mind? You're going out, Sam's going out; Mary and I'll have the house to ourselves. We can do all the things that we can't do when you are here; you know drink, drugs and rock and roll," he grinned.

"You'd better be joking."

"Of course I'm joking aren't I Sam?" He looked over to his brother for back up but he simply shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess," was all he offered.

"Well that's just great. I at least expected my own brother to back me up on this," he joked with mock offence. "At least I have my daughter to agree with me," he glanced at Mary. Really; you go out and have fun," he turned back to Jess. "I am perfectly capable of having a nice quiet night in."

"You sure?" She asked one more time and Dean nodded his head.

"Go and have fun," he instructed. "You too," he pointed at Sam.

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"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Jess asked Dean one more time that evening as she was preparing to get ready. Dean was sitting on the bed with Mary in his lap playing with her teddy.

"You don't have to keep asking me that, its fine. Why are you so nervous you've left Mary before?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "I just have this feeling."

"Everyone's having feelings lately," Dean muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing," he lied. "I'm sure everything will be fine; just go out and have fun. I am perfectly capable of looking after things if anything does happen. Besides Mary and I have a fun packed night organised without you so if you stay you'll just put all our hard work to waste."

"Really; so what do you have planned?" She asked as she sat down next to them.

"We're gonna play with teddy for a while, then we're gonna read The Very Hungry Caterpillar and then we're going to get really wild and I'm going to bathe her and put her to bed."

"Sound like a lot of fun."

"Oh, I think so," Dean grinned and kissed her as Sam poked his head round the door.

"I'm going now; I'll see you guys later," he told them and they nodded.

"Have fun," Dean called out as Sam turned to leave. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he told him and Sam laughed as he turned around once more.

"So I can do pretty much anything then?"

"Pretty much," Dean agreed and Sam left. A moment later they heard the door close. "You going soon?" He asked Jess.

"Yeah I'm going but call me…"

"If anything happens," Dean finished for her. "I will I promise," he put his hand up in the gesture that the scouts used.

"Somehow I don't think you were ever a scout," she said as she kissed him and stood up off the bed. "I won't be late," she told him as she grabbed her jacket.

"Say bye bye to mommy," Dean said to Mary and lifted her arm to wave. Jess waved back and kissed her daughter on the head before she left. "Now mommy's gone," Dean whispered as he heard the door close, "We can have some fun," he lifted her up and took her downstairs. "So what's it going to be?" He asked as he opened a cupboard, "Peas or carrots," he looked at the labels on the jar of food.

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Mary didn't stay awake long after her bath and fell asleep in the middle of the story Dean was reading to her.

"Come on sweetheart; let's get you to bed," he smiled at his daughter's sleeping form and carried her up the stairs. He gently placed her in her crib and turned on the monitor before heading back downstairs.

He turned the television on and began to watch a film. He felt himself begin to fall asleep but something brought him back to waking. He heard a noise. Sitting upright on the sofa he took a minute to regain his bearings and listened for the sound again. It was coming from over the baby monitor. There was something in the house and it was in Mary's room. He silently stood up and made his way into the kitchen; picking up the sharpest knife he could find in the dark before he silently crept up the stairs. Whoever or whatever it was he was going to kill the son of a bitch for being anywhere near his daughter.

Mary's room was dark and there was no sign of movement inside so Dean moved cautiously. He grasped the knife tighter in his hands; he was going to take the thing by surprise. He glanced over to the crib where Mary was still seemingly sleeping peacefully. Out of immense concern for her; he stopped for a moment just to check that she was okay and then the thing found the perfect moment to attack.

Whatever it was launched itself at Dean and tackled him to the floor; knocking the knife out of his hand in the process. Dean hit the ground with a loud thud; his breath knocked out of him. His attacker was on top of him; trying to reach down to strangle him but Dean batted its hands away. He reached out and grabbed the shirt it was wearing and managed to knock it off balance enough to gain the upper hand and throw it off him. He quickly stood up and looked around for the knife. It was on the floor under the crib but as he tried to pick it up the attacker grabbed him and threw him against the wall. Dean grunted but didn't allow it to punch him. He blocked the punch with his left arm and slugged the attacker in the gut with his right hand. The attacker grunted in pain and fell to the floor.

Dean knew he had to get out. He tried to escape the attacker and get to Mary but it was back on its feet too quickly and with very little hesitation it had grabbed him by the legs and he crashed to the floor. Momentarily stunned; the attacker took the opportunity to regain the upper hand and smashed his head off the floor. Dean winced as stars started to cloud his vision. The attacker repeated the moment and he blacked out for a second. Another blow and he wouldn't be able to stay conscious. Dean tried to push it away but it was too late. He didn't have the strength left to fight and the attacker was in the perfect position. He lifted his head one more time and smashed it off the floor. Dean felt everything go black and then nothing.

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Jess had fun. She enjoyed catching up with her old friend but she just wanted to go home and see her daughter. She made her way home and ran into Sam and Lennie.

"Hey did you have fun?" Sam asked as he put the key into the lock of the house and turned it.

"Yeah it was fun; but I just wanna go to bed now," she told him as they stepped into the house. "I'm going to check on Mary and then I'm turning in for the night," she told them and made her way up the stairs.

She poked her head into her and Dean's room but Dean wasn't there. She suddenly felt her stomach drop as she wondered where he was. Cautiously; she entered Mary's room and turned on the light.

"SAM!" She called out in terror. The room was a mess; things had been thrown about, there had definitely been a fight. Worst of all there was no sign of Mary. "SAM!" She called again. She fell to the floor and threw back the rug under the crib to reveal a devil's trap painted onto the floorboards. It had been broken. She slowly stood to her feet as she heard Sam.

"What is it?" He asked as he ran up the stairs and saw the devastation in the room.

"Mary's gone," Jess sobbed. And then she saw the blood. "Dean is too."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

"What?" Sam asked not quite able to comprehend what Jess was saying. He looked down at the broken devil's trap on the floor and he felt sick.

"They're gone," Jess continued to sob. "They're gone," she repeated. She picked up Mary's teddy from the crib and held it tight to her chest. "There's blood on the floor and they're gone," she said once more; she couldn't think of anything else to say; her mind had completely gone blank and all she could think of was that Dean and Mary were gone.

"Okay; I'm going to say good night to Lennie and then I'm calling Bobby," he told her; putting his feelings aside for the moment and taking charge of the situation. "We'll figure this out, okay?" Jess dumbly nodded and Sam left the room.

Jess couldn't stand up; her legs wouldn't let her so she collapsed to the floor. She felt sick; all the horrendous things that could be happening to them ran through her mind as she cursed herself for leaving the house that evening. She couldn't help but think that if she hadn't gone out then she might have been able to prevent this somehow.

Sam said goodnight to Lennie but was evasive as to why she had to leave. Once he had closed the door behind her; he picked up the phone and dialled Bobby's number. It rang several times before Bobby answered.

"Hey," he quickly greeted before going straight to the point. "We need you're help. I think the demons found us and they've got Dean and Mary. You'll be straight over? Great; see you soon," he said before he hung up. Then he went to check on Jess.

She was still in Mary's room; sitting on the floor next to the crib and hugging a teddy; sobbing her heart out. Sam kneeled down next to her and rested his hand on her shoulder.

"Bobby's on his way," he softly told her but she didn't say a word. He picked her up and had to wrap his arm around her waist so she didn't collapse back to the floor before he could lead her down the stairs. He gently sat her down on the sofa just as he heard a knock at the door. "That'll be Bobby," he explained and hurried to answer it.

He opened the door and saw the gruff looking older hunter on the other side. "Thanks God you're here," Sam sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. He stepped aside and allowed Bobby to enter.

"What happened?" He asked.

"We came home and Dean and Mary had disappeared. There was blood on the floor; I think its Dean's."

"How's Jess?"

"Not great; she's been crying since she found out. We need to find them and fast."

"I'm gonna check upstairs for clues; you stay with Jess."

"Okay," Sam agreed and went back to the living room as Bobby climbed the stairs. He sat down next to Jess and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She leaned in and rested her head against his chest.

"Where are they?" She sobbed quietly.

"I don't know," he admitted. "But we'll find whoever did this and make them pay; I promise," he told her but it did not make Jess feel any better. She just wanted to have Dean and Mary back. "It's going to be okay," he whispered softly as he rubbed her back and she cried her eyes out.

"It was a demon," Bobby announced as he walked into the living room. "I found sulphur," he continued.

"How did they find us?" Sam asked in horror. They had put so much time effort into hiding themselves and now they had been found. He looked over at Jess who simply sat there in shock looking nauseous.

"I don't know," Bobby replied, "But they have."

"Was it Bela?"

"It couldn't have been Bela."

"Why not?" Sam asked him.

"'Cos Bela died six months ago. I only just found out. She just disappeared and recently it came out."

"She died? How did she die?"

"Hellhounds got to her. Seems she made a deal with a demon. Her expiry date was just after you ran into her."

"That would explain why she never came after the Colt. I just thought that she had got bored of looking. But then if it wasn't her then who could it be?"

"I dunno," Bobby shook his head. "It could'a been anyone. I've been hearin' stuff about demons payin' people for information. One of them could'a seen ya; followed ya back and then told 'em where you were."

"Great," Sam sighed. "We have no idea how they found us and we don't have any way to get Dean and Mary back. Have you found anything out about where the demons are?"

"None, they've been quiet for months now. They've obviously been planning something for a while."

"We need to find them."

"Thanks for stating the damned obvious," Jess spoke for the first time since Bobby had entered the room.

"Jess," Sam started to speak but Jess interrupted him.

"I don't care what we do or how we find them I just want them back," she said; her voice rising more and more with each word she spoke. "I need them back," her voice cracked and she began to cry again. This time it was Bobby who took her into his arms and held her close as she cried.

"Don't worry," he soothed as he gently rubbed her back until she began to calm down. "We'll find them; they'll be okay the demons won't kill them."

"Are you sure?" She quietly asked; her voice hitching.

"They need to know where the Colt is so they won't kill them as long as Dean holds out. All we have'ta do is find them first."

"Is Dean the only one who knows where the Colt is?" Sam asked and both Bobby and Jess nodded.

"He said that if anything like this were to happen then he would rather it be him they took than anyone else," Jess explained.

"Then we need to find out where he hid it. We'll find it and then we'll make the demons pay."

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Jess fell asleep a little while later on the sofa so Sam covered her with a blanket. She stirred slightly and shifted from her back onto her side but didn't wake up.

"Is she okay?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah she's just sleeping. We need to find them and we need to do it now."

"It's not gonna be easy," Bobby sighed. "They're really well hidden."

"Then what are we supposed to do?"

"I have no idea," Bobby admitted.

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Dean's head pounded as he sat on the cold, hard ground. He held Mary in his arms as she cried making his headache worse.

"Shh," he tried to soothe her but she wouldn't calm down. "It's okay sweetie; you're okay," he told her as he rocked her and rubbed her back. "Everything's going to be all right."

"It won't be all right if that stupid baby doesn't stop with that infernal crying," Meg exclaimed as she entered the room and closed the door behind her. "I swear to god I will snap her neck."

"You go anywhere near my daughter and I will kill you with my bare hands," Dean growled.

"Now now; no need for empty threats," Meg smirked.

"It wasn't empty," he threatened. "I will kill you."

"If you don't want her to die then get her to shut the hell up."

"She's hungry and she's scared so I think she has every right to cry."

"It's annoying."

"Get over it; she's a baby that's what babies do."

Meg didn't take kindly to Dean's retaliations and she took hold of his face; grabbing his cheeks in her hand.

"Listen to me you worthless piece of crap, you get her to be quiet or I will kill you both."

"You kill us then you will never find out where the Colt is," Dean replied cockily and smirked.

"She doesn't know, I could just kill her," Meg offered.

"Like I said you kill her and you won't live long enough to find out."

"Fine," Meg gave in and stood up; backhanding his face as she did so. His head snapped back and it took a moment for him to regain his composure.

"Let her go," Dean said to her.

"What?"

"Let her go," he repeated.

"Why would I want to do that?" She asked.

"She won't be in the way then. You won't have to listen to her cry anymore. Just let her go and you can do whatever you want with me."

"That does sound like a very tempting offer," Meg pondered Dean's suggestion. "At least I wouldn't have to listen to her incessant crying and your incessant whining."

"That's great; you do that," Dean sarcastically told her.

Meg took a step forward and tried to grab Mary. Dean pulled Mary closer to his chest so she couldn't take her.

"I said don't touch her and I meant it," Dean warned with a threatening scowl plastered on his face. If looks could kill then Meg would have been stone cold by now. She simply shook her head and threw a phone at him.

"Fine; phone your brother and tell him to collect her. We'll arrange somewhere for him to pick her up."

"But she stays with me until then and I get to do the hand over."

"Whatever," Meg brushed his suggestion off but she knew she would have to give into his demand. She just didn't have the time or patience to deny him. "Just make the damned call."

Dean picked up the phone and dialled Sam's number. After a couple of rings Sam answered.

"Hello?" A tired and irate voice came down the phone. He obviously hadn't slept much.

"Sam," Dean greeted.

"Dean is that you? Where are you? Is Mary okay?" Sam's voice immediately picked up at the sound of Dean's voice.

"Yeah it's me; I don't know and Mary's fine," Dean answered Sam's questions. "Sam I need your help."

"What is it? Wait, why are you able to call?" Sam had just realised that Dean was on the phone while he was captive.

"I need you to collect Mary for me," he said; trying to keep his voice level and emotionless. "I'm going to give you a time and place and you have to meet me there. I'll hand over Mary and then you have to leave. Come alone and don't try anything; I don't want anything to happen to Mary."

"Sure; anything," Sam agreed. "Where should I meet you?"

"In the park where you met Lennie. Be there at midnight tomorrow. Or today, I'm not sure what time it is."

"I'll be there," Sam told him.

"Thanks," Dean replied; his voice low but full of gratitude. He hung up the phone before Meg could snatch it from him. "This had better not turn out to be a trap."

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"Are they okay?" Jess immediately asked as Sam hung up the phone.

"Yeah, they're fine," he explained. "Dean wants me to collect Mary; they're letting her go."

"When? Where?" Jess asked urgently; she needed to know.

"In the park at midnight. I'll go and collect Mary and then leave. Dean doesn't want anything to happen to her so I'm not going to try to free Dean. Once she's back and safe then we'll figure out our next plan of attack."

"No," Jess told him.

"What do you mean?"

"You're not going; I am."

"Jess; that's not a very good idea, I mean it could be a trap."

"I don't care," she replied, "I'm going to pick up my daughter and there's nothing you or anyone else can do to stop me."

"But what if something happens and the demons attack?"

"I'm not going to do anything to jeopardise Mary's life."

"But they're demons," Sam tried to argue, "They could be using this as an opportunity to kill me."

"In that case when they see me they won't try anything," Jess shot back. "Face it Sam; I'm going."

"Fine," Sam gave in. "You can go but be careful."

"I will be," she told him.

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Jess shivered in the dark as she stood by the Impala waiting for Dean and his captors to arrive. She had been there since half eleven and now it was almost midnight. She had a sick feeling in her stomach; something was going to go wrong, she just knew it.

They were here. She pushed herself away from the car and took a step towards them. A young woman with long brown hair; who was standing at the front of the large crowd, pushed her hand out to warn Jess not to take another step. Jess stopped in her tracks and the brown haired demon stepped aside to reveal Dean holding their daughter. When she nodded he walked over to Jess.

"I thought Sam was coming," Dean said to her.

"He was; I told him I'd go instead."

"And he let you?"

"Well I had to knock him unconscious first," Jess smiled and Dean grinned back. He handed Mary to her; who immediately started crying. Jess bounced her to try to calm her but she continued crying.

"Its okay baby," Dean soothed and kissed her forehead, "Daddy'll be home soon enough but you have to go with mommy so you'll be safe."

"Will you be okay?" Jess asked.

"I'll be fine," he reassured and wrapped his arm around her in a quick hug. He kissed her before leaned in close and whispered something in her ear. Jess gasped in shock as he pulled away and kissed his daughter on the head. "Think about it," he said quietly and took a step back. Jess could only stand and stare as he walked back over to his captors; leaving her alone with only Mary crying softly in her arms.

At least he knew his daughter was safe.


	10. Chapter 10

Here we go with the next chapter

**Chapter Ten**

Jess was quiet when she returned home with Mary. Sam stood up from the sofa where he had been sitting upon her return.

"How did it go?" He asked; his voice full of worry.

"It went okay, as well as to be expected," she explained. "I just wanna go to bed and be with Mary, I can't deal with this right now," Jess told him as tears began to form in her eyes. "I need to be alone."

"I understand," Sam said to her as she began to climb the stairs. She looked tired and anxious and that made Sam worry. He needed his brother back. He needed to do something to help so he didn't feel so useless. He picked up the phone and dialled Bobby's number.

"How'd it go?" Was the first thing Bobby asked when he answered.

"Mary's home," Sam replied and gave a soft sigh. "Jess went straight upstairs with Mary when she got home. She's not taking this too well and she needs some time alone with her. She didn't say anything about Dean."

"You just gotta give her time but we need a plan to get Dean back."

"I'm coming over; just give me a minute to tell Jess."

"Make sure the house is protected."

"I will," Sam replied and hung up. He dropped the phone back onto the table and made his way up the stairs. He gently knocked on the door of the bedroom and pushed it open. He found Jess sitting on the bed; clutching a sobbing Mary tightly in her arms and crying quietly. Sam sat down on the bed next to her and pulled her into his arms. They both sat like that for several minutes until Jess quietened down. "We're gonna get him back, I promise."

"What if they get to him first?" She asked; her voice cracking as she spoke. "What if they kill him?"

"Dean won't let them. He'd probably stay alive just to annoy them," Sam told her which elicited a small laugh from Jess.

"You're probably right," Jess said as she pulled away from him and rested Mary down on the bed who continued to cry loudly. "She hasn't stopped crying since I brought her home. She misses Dean. I don't know what to do without him. I don't want him to die; I can't do this without him."

"Well then we'll just have to find him. I'm going over to Bobby's to try and come up with something. Will you be okay here?"

Jess shook her head, "I don't want to be here on my own."

"Come on," he took her by the hand and pulled her off the bed. "Get Mary's things and come with me." Jess nodded dumbly but did what he said. She grabbed Mary's things and placed them gently into a bag.

"Do you think that we can win?" She quietly asked him; so quiet that he almost didn't hear her.

"We can win," he vehemently told her. "I'm not going to settle for anything less."

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Dean was in agony; more pain than he had ever felt in his life. It was almost too much to bear. His screams permeated the air; making Meg grin maliciously as she rested the hot poker back down onto his bruised and bloody body.

"Are you ready to talk yet?" She asked; pulling away the poker and relishing in the foul and sickening burning stench of flesh. It made Dean want to vomit but he'd thrown up everything on his stomach hours ago.

"Go to hell, bitch," he croaked; his voice weak from all the screaming as a cramp hit his stomach and he started to wretch. He shivered violently and tried to curl up into a ball but he was strapped to a chair and couldn't move. Meg didn't want him to move.

"Believe me I've been and I'm not going to go back. I'm going to bring it here."

"I'm not gonna let you."

"You're not going to have a choice," she told him as she heated up the poker once more and rested it on his chest causing him to scream loudly once again. "You will tell me."

"You won't find out where it is if I'm dead," he hissed as he breathed through the pain. "And I'm not gonna tell you as long as I'm alive."

"I have ways of making you talk that don't include torture. I could get the information out of you in a heartbeat and you would never even know that you had told me."

"Then why the torture?"

"Because it's fun," Meg smirked. "I like the power I have over you right now; I like hearing you scream," she took his face in her hand and squeezed his cheeks. "It's a good revenge for what you did."

"Is that what all this is about? Revenge for what I did to your father? You want to finish this because that's he wanted and that makes you pathetic."

"It's not about him," Meg angrily told him and backhanded him across the face; causing his head to snap to the side. "I'm doing this because if I don't then there will be others who will take my place."

"So this is about a power struggle? You want to stay on top but there's something more powerful," he groaned. "Sucks to be you then," he mocked.

"No; it sucks to be you."

"I'm not the one trying to stay on top."

"But the demons that are trying to take over really don't like Sam for some reason; I can't think why. Anyway they really want him dead."

"You want him dead too."

"I want him dead for a completely different reason. I want him dead because he betrayed me; he should have stood by my side and watched this world burn but he chose you. The other demons want him dead because he's a threat."

"Sam is not a threat," Dean told her.

"He is so much more of a threat than you can ever imagine," Meg whispered softly into his ear. "He has so much power inside of him and all he needs to do is realise it. He could rule the world if he wanted to. He could destroy it if he wanted to."

"I don't believe you," Dean moaned.

"I don't care if you do or not but it doesn't change the fact that they want him dead. It would have been better for you and him if he had died that night."

"You're lying."

"I'm telling the truth," she told him as she gestured to a couple of her minions and they stood next to her. "I'm done with him for now, take him away."

Dean groaned in pain as they pulled him from the chair and dragged him away. They threw him to the floor of the room they had trapped him in and locked the door as they left. He curled up into a ball; clutching his hurt body, violent shivers wracking his body as he tried to comfort himself but it didn't work. He thought of Mary and Jess and Sam. He so desperately wanted to see them again but he was in so much pain he knew that he could never take the demons out and escape. Sam was his only hope now.

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"Where are you keeping Dean?" Sam asked as he threw a bucket of holy water over a demon. They had tracked it down and taken it back to Bobby's so they could find out some answers. So far they had found out nothing and the demon was not willing to divulge any information on Dean's whereabouts so Sam was now beginning to feel very frustrated and very angry.

"I'm not going to tell you," the demon sneered. "I really hope he's dead by now. I'm just sorry I won't be there to hear his final screams."

Sam threw more holy water over the demon and it screamed in agony. "Tell me where he is."

"Over my dead body; or someone else's at least."

Jess stood and watched Sam and Bobby interrogate the demon from a distance. She still held Mary tight to her; afraid that if she let go then she would lose her again. When she couldn't watch anymore she made her way outside to avoid the agonised screams. She sat down and waited for the screams to stop.

"How are you feeling?" She heard a voice coming from behind her. She looked up and saw Sam.

"What?" She asked; she had completely spaced out. "How long have been out here?"

"About half an hour," Sam answered as he sat down next to her. "Are you okay; you've been really quiet?"

"Yeah I just want this to be over," she sat quietly for several more minutes before she spoke again. "Sam, can I tell you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"When I went to collect Mary Dean asked me to marry him."

"That's great," Sam smiled. "Wait, isn't that great?" He asked when he saw the look on her face. She didn't look all that happy about it.

"It is great."

"Then why do you look so sad?"

"Because what if he only asked me because he thought he was going to die. What if he doesn't really want to marry me?"

"Jess he wants to marry you."

"How do you know?"

"Because he told me. He asked me what I thought about it; he showed me the ring and everything."

"When did he…?" Jess began to ask but then she realised. "The other day when I came back and he wouldn't tell me what you were talking about it. He really asked you?"

"Yeah he wanted to know if I was okay with it; you know? I told him to go for it."

"That makes me feel a little bit better," she admitted. "Now all we have to do is find him."

"We're working on it."

"Is the demon talking yet?"

"Apart from being a smartass? No he's not talking," Sam shook his head. "Bobby's working on it."

"It might be too late."

"I don't think so. I think the demon's stalling because they don't have the information they need to get the Colt."

"Then we need to find out," she told him as she handed Mary over to him. He looked confused as he took her into his arms and Jess stood up.

"What are you doing?" He asked as he followed her back into the house.

Jess grabbed the bucket of holy water from the floor and threw it over the demon. As it screamed in agony she yelled at it, "Tell me where to find Dean you demonic son of a bitch before I send your ass back to hell where it belongs."

"Do you think I'm scared of you?" It sneered again.

"You should be," she snarled back; "Because if you don't then I am going to cause you more pain than you can ever imagine. You think that hell is bad well I'll be worse. I'll make you beg to be exorcised so I'm asking you again, where the hell is Dean?"

Sam stood; amazed at what he was seeing. The demon was actually scared of her; he was visibly trembling at the threats she was making. "She's pretty good," he said to Bobby.

"Maybe a little too good."

"It's probably how she keeps Dean in line," Sam grinned and Bobby grinned back.

"I know where he is," Jess interrupted him.

"We'll go and get him then," Sam told her as he handed Mary back. "We'll be as quick as we can."

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The building was empty when Sam and Bobby arrived; there was no sign of any demons. They searched the house but everyone had disappeared.

"Where do you think they've gone?" Sam asked.

"No idea; but this doesn't look good," Bobby replied.

"We gotta find Dean," Sam said as he continued to search. He tried to open the door to the basement but it was locked. "Here," he called over to Bobby, "The door is locked." Bobby crossed the room to Sam's side and pulled out his gun. He pointed it at the lock and fired; blowing the lock apart and the door swung open.

"Come on," Bobby waved and they both ran down the steps.

Dean was lying on the floor curled up in a ball. He was shirtless and Sam gasped out loud as he saw all the cuts and bruises and burns on his body.

"Dean," Sam cried out and quickly made his way over to his brother. He kneeled on the floor next to him and rolled him over. Dean groaned in pain and clutched his sides.

"Sam?" He asked.

"Hey Dean, we've come to get you out."

"Too late," he whispered.

"What's too late?" Sam was confused.

"I told them. I didn't want to but they got it out of me."

"What did you tell them?"

"I told them where to find the Colt."


	11. Chapter 11

**Now onto the next chapter**

**Chapter Eleven**

Sam paced restlessly along the length of the waiting room floor as he waited for news about his brother. Jess sat on one of the seats; Bobby was looking after Mary and they had been waiting now for several hours.

"What's taking so long?" Sam asked and ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"They're probably just running some tests," Jess explained to him.

"You're remarkably calm about all this," Sam commented.

"That's because if I let myself freak out then I'm never going to stop," she told him; keeping her voice as even as she could. "But it's not the only thing you're worried about. You're worried about what's going to happen now the have the Colt. It's bad isn't it?"

"Yeah it's bad. They're gonna use it to open the devil's gate and once that happens all the demons in hell will escape…"

"…And all hell breaks loose," Jess finished the sentence for him. Sam nodded sadly.

"I just wish they would tell us what's going on," he turned the topic back to Dean; he didn't want to think about what was going to happen.

"They will but we just have to wait," Jess told him and clenched her hands together so tight her knuckles turned white. She was barely holding it together.

"How is he?" She heard Sam ask and she looked up. The doctor had appeared with news. Jess stood up and joined Sam.

"Your brother is going to be fine," the doctor told him. "He's suffered some pretty bad burns, some cuts and bruises and he's a little dehydrated but other than that he's okay."

"Can we see him?" Sam asked.

"Sure but keep it brief; he needs to rest."

"Thank you," Sam said as they followed the doctor to Dean's room.

He was sleeping when they arrived. Jess sat down next to the bed and took Dean's hand in hers. He stirred slightly but stayed asleep. Sam stood in the doorway nervously.

"Hey," Jess whispered softly to Dean. "Are you going to wake up for me? I can't tell you the answer to your question if you don't wake up," she said to him but he didn't reply. She wiped a tear away from her eye with her free hand and rubbed small circles into his wrist with her thumb. "Mary's fine; she's with Bobby but she hasn't stopped crying since you let her go. You have to wake up now so you can see your little girl smile again."

Dean's eyes fluttered open but he quickly shut them again when he realised how bright it was.

"Open your eyes," he heard a gentle voice coax and he slowly cracked them open once more. When his vision came back into focus he saw Jess sat next to the bed; smiling and Sam standing behind her. "Hey."

"Hi," he croaked; his voice still hoarse from screaming and then he broke out into a fit of coughs. Jess poured him a glass of water from the jug on the bedside cabinet and lifted it to his lips. He took a sip of the cooling liquid and gave a sigh of relief as his coughs subsided. "Thanks," he whispered.

"It's okay," Jess replied as she sat back down and rested in the chair. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap," he put it as bluntly as he could. "Everywhere hurts."

"I'm not surprised," Sam told him, "They beat you up pretty bad."

"Sam you have to stop them," Dean said as he began to panic; remembering that he had broken and told them everything. "You need to stop them."

"Calm down," Sam soothed, "We'll stop them; you need to rest. You won't be able to fight if you don't get yourself better."

Dean quickly began to calm down. "Where's Mary?" He asked to take his mind off his failures.

"She's with Bobby; do you want to see her?" Sam asked and Dean nodded. "I'll go and get her; I'll be back soon," he patted his brother on the shoulder and walked out of the room leaving Jess and Dean alone.

"It's not your fault," She told him; knowing exactly what he was thinking. "People give things up under torture all the time."

"I should have tried harder," he croaked. "I shouldn't have told them."

"Don't be so self-pitying; anyone in your position would have done the same thing. The only thing we can do now is fight back and you can't do that unless your well so hurry up and get better."

"Yes ma'am," he laughed but soon turned quiet again. Jess attempted to take his mind off things.

"So how about we talk about the thing you asked me when you gave me Mary the other night."

"What about it?"

"Did you mean it or did you just say it because you thought you were about to die?"

Dean paused for a moment before answering, "I meant it."

"Really?"

"I've been planning to ask you for a while but I just couldn't get up the nerve. I was going to ask you at the weekend but then I got abducted and tortured," he told her and Jess asked. "Do you want to marry me?"

"I do want to marry you," she smiled and leaned in to kiss him.

"That's great," he sighed, "I would have hated for you to crush me on top of all these nasty injuries. I bought you a ring."

"You did?"

"Yeah, it's in my leather jacket."

"I'll find it when I go home."

"I'm tired," he announced. "Wake me up when Sam gets back with Mary," he closed his eyes.

"I will," she gently told him and sat back in the chair watching him sleep and waiting for Sam to return.

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"This isn't a good plan," Dean almost shouted at Sam. He had returned a little while ago with Mary and announced he had a plan to stop the demons. Unfortunately his plan involved going after them alone into almost certain death and there was no way Dean was going to let that happen.

"It's the only one we've got," Sam protested.

"No it isn't," Dean told him. "There's a better plan and it's wait for me to get better so we can fight this together."

"It'll be too late by then. Dean, you're not 100 and you need to rest. By the time you're fit enough to fight; Meg will have opened the devil's gate and unleashed her army of demons. I have to go now and stop her before she does that."

"You need backup or you'll die," Dean bluntly told him. "I'm not going to sit here and let you do that," he couldn't let his brother die again; he just couldn't take the pain. He didn't tell Sam any of this though.

"I'm not going to die," Sam promised him, "I'll be fine. I'm going to do this and nothing you say is going to change my mind," he told Dean as he stood up from the chair he had been sitting on. "I'll be back soon," Dean couldn't do anything but sit and watch as his brother walked away.

"I hope so," he murmured quietly under his breath.

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"Are you okay?" Lennie asked Sam when he turned up on her doorstep with a dour and worried expression on his face. "Is something wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong; everything's fine," he lied as he pulled her into a tight hug. "I just wanted to see you."

"Are you sure? You seem different," she commented, "Like there's something wrong."

"There is nothing wrong," he repeated, "I promise," he kissed her softly on the lips. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," she smiled and took his hand before leading him into the living room. They sat down on the sofa and Sam wrapped his arms around Lennie and pulled her close; so close she could hear the beating of his heart. It was beating fast; he was nervous about something. "There's something bothering you, can't you tell me what's wrong?"

"I'm just worried about Dean."

"How is he?" She asked; she'd heard something about him being hurt but Sam hadn't explained what had happened.

"He's pretty beat up."

"But he's going to be okay, right?"

"Yeah, he's gonna be fine," he told her and they sat together for a while before he started to stand. "I have to go now," he said to her.

"Why?"

"There's something that I have to do; I'll be back soon."

"Okay," Lennie smiled but she saw the scared look in his eyes and her heart stopped for a second. She didn't say anything though; she just kept the words to herself.

"I'll see you soon, okay," he whispered back and kissed her again; not wanting it to end. Eventually; though, he pulled away and walked away without looking back. It was too hard; if he was going to die then he just couldn't bring himself to look at her one last time. He made his way back to the Impala and drove away to what seemed like almost certain death.

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Dean was worried. Not just a little worried but stomach churning; about to throw up worried about what might happen to Sam.

"He's going to die isn't he?" He asked Jess and Bobby; who were sitting in the hospital room with him. Mary was curled up in Jess' lap fast asleep.

"You don't know that," Jess tried to comfort him but she failed miserably. "You gotta have faith."

"I just can't," Dean admitted. "I have this feeling that something bad is gonna happen and I can't get rid of it. Bobby, you have to go and find him; you have to help," Dean begged and Bobby nodded silently. "Thanks."

"I'll go now," Bobby said to Dean before he left.

"I'm sure Sam's going to be fine," Jess told Dean in an attempt to calm his nerves. "He's a good fighter."

"It's just a feeling I can't shake."

"Then don't think about it," she told him as she handed Mary over to him. He took her in his arms and held her close to his chest. She squirmed in his arms before settling down. "Just let him do his job."

"Okay," Dean said and grinned half-heartedly. "I just hope he's okay."

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He was too late. Sam arrived just in time to see Meg open the devil's gate with the Colt. He saw the lock turn and the gate open before a large cloud of black smoke escape. His heart stopped as he realised there was nothing he could do. Now all he could do was stop Meg before all the demons in hell escaped. He ran towards her; not having a plan to stop her but it was all he could think about.

"Nice to see you again, Sam," Meg said to him as she stopped him in his tracks and threw him against a gravestone. He grunted loudly as he connected with the solid stone. "You never should have run; you know. You could have had it all and now all you have left is death."

"That's the preferable option."

"You could still have it," she told him as she kneeled down beside him and whispered in his ear. He tried to struggle but she stopped him. "Stay where you are," she instructed and he found himself pinned to the headstone by an invisible force. "Good boy, now where were we? Oh yes; you could still join me and we could destroy this world together. That was the plan."

"Yeah well; the plan changed," Sam hissed. "I don't wanna fight with you, I want you dead."

"That's a shame; with your power we could have been great. We could have ruled our own personal hell. But now you'll die."

Meg pulled the Colt from the waistband of her jeans and pointed it at Sam. He closed his eyes and prepared for her to shoot but he found that he wasn't firmly secured to the gravestone. He then knew that he could fight. He flexed his fingers; slowly so she wouldn't notice before he took his chance. He launched himself at Meg. She wasn't expecting it and fell to the ground with a hard thud.

"What? You were supposed to be trapped. How could you…?" She asked, confused and slightly scared. Sam was more powerful than she had thought. There was a chance that he might just win this.

Bobby saw total devastation. The gate had been opened and demons were pouring out at an alarming rate. They had to get the gate shut soon or all of hell would escape. He saw Sam trapped by Meg and took his chance. He sneaked over to the doors and started to push them shut; no mean feat considering the size and weight. He breathed a huge sigh of relief as the first began to move and the second soon followed. Now the doors were shut he just needed to help Sam. He looked over and saw that he had somehow freed himself and now he was fighting Meg. He hurried over and saw the Colt lying on the ground. He picked it up.

"Sam!" He called out. Sam looked up and Bobby threw him the Colt. He caught it and pointed it at Meg. Without hesitating he fired and the bullet tore through the air; seemingly in slow motion, before it hit her heart and she screamed in pain. Sam and Bobby watched as the demon inside the body died and the poor girl who had been possessed died alongside it.

Sam took a step towards the still body and stared at it. "Poor girl," he whispered. "She never had a chance."

"At least Meg's gone," Bobby told him; trying to look on the Brightside.

"Yeah but there are hundreds of more demons out in the world now."

"Let's deal with that tomorrow. We need to get back and make sure that Dean's okay."

"You're right," Sam sighed. "Let's go home."

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"You killed her?" Dean asked; slightly shocked but more pleased. "She's actually dead?"

"She is; I shot her with the Colt," Sam explained. "Meg's not gonna be a problem anymore." Sam had gone back to the hospital once he and Bobby returned to talk to Dean. Jess had left so they were completely alone and talking about what had happened.

"But the hundreds of demons that escaped are gonna be."

"Then we'll deal with them; it's no big deal."

"Sam; I can't just up sticks and go hunting again. I have different priorities now."

"Then I'll go. I'll hunt them all down," Sam told him and in that moment Dean was scared of him. He remembered what Meg had told him about the power that Sam had inside of him and he began to think about what if he chose to embrace that power. Then he started to think about the demons that wanted him dead.

"Sam, when Meg had me trapped; she told me something," Dean quietly said to him.

"What did she say?"

"She told me that there were demons out there that wanted you dead. She said that they saw you as a threat to their power and that they would stop at nothing until you were dead."

"She could have been lying."

"I don't think so; she was scared of them. I think they are more powerful than she is and they think that you are the biggest challenge to them taking over."

"Then I'll fight every last one of them. I'm not going to let them win."

Dean didn't reply. That's what he was afraid of.


	12. Chapter 12

**Yes it's that time of the week again  
**

**Chapter Twelve**

"You're quiet tonight," Lennie quietly commented as she lay next to Sam. "Is there something wrong?" She asked as snuggled closer to him; resting her head on his chest.

"There's nothing wrong," he told her and gently kissed her forehead. "Everything's fine," he lied. Nothing was fine; things were starting to go to hell and he felt powerless to stop it. He couldn't get what Dean had told him out of his head; there were more demons after him and they all wanted him dead. He really didn't know how to react to that so he found himself avoiding Dean and Jess and he decided to hide out at Lennie's apartment.

But he felt out of place; like he didn't really belong there. Was he really as powerful as Meg had told Dean? Could he really do all these terrible things? He thought back to the time when he was evil. He had done some pretty despicable things during that time; he had killed without feeling any remorse, he had used his psychic abilities to torture poor innocent people and he had enjoyed it. Could he become that person again?

"You should stop thinking," he heard Lennie say to him.

"I wish I could," he replied. "I just can't."

"Then tell me what you're thinking about."

"Do you think that a person is capable of doing bad things?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't really know how to put it," he said to her. "I guess what I'm trying to ask is do you think that a person; a good person, can do bad things and how can someone come back from that? Or will they always have a bit of that darkness inside of them?"

"I think that a person can be whoever they choose to be," Lennie replied; understanding the subtext. She knew that he was talking about himself but she just didn't know why. "It doesn't matter what they've done; they can change that."

"But what if they can't? What if they are doomed to follow that one path?"

"Sam what happened? What did you do to make you say these things?" She felt worried now.

"I can't tell you," he whispered.

"Why not?"

"I don't want you to hate me."

"Has this got to do with what you were telling me about before? About the time you spent with that girl?"

"Yeah," he couldn't even manage to meet her eyes now.

"You can tell me about it; I won't hate you I promise."

"You can't say that when you don't know about all the things I did," he threw back the covers of the bed and began to pull on his clothes. "I need to go."

"Sam," Lennie begged, "You don't have to go."

"I need to get home. Dean's just out of the hospital and Jess will need help around the house. I'll call you later," he told her as he headed for the door.

"Sam, if you're going to break up with me then I would prefer if you would just do it now and spare me any further pain."

"Lennie, I'm not going to break up with you," he told her and leaned down to kiss her. "I just have some things I need to work out and I think I need to do this by myself."

"Okay, then call me when you figure it out," she smiled sadly as she watched Sam leave.

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"She's not going anywhere; you don't need to watch over her day and night," Dean told Jess as he wrapped his arms around her. She was standing beside Mary's crib watching over her daughter as if something was going to take her away again.

"I know," she replied; leaning into his embrace. "But my brain won't let me believe that."

"Then tell your brain to be quiet," he kissed her temple.

Jess smiled slightly. "How are you feeling anyway? You should be resting."

"I did enough of that in the hospital; I feel fine."

"You look like crap," she told him and took hold of his hand; leading him back to bed.

"Wow thanks; I really don't want to hear that from my wife to be," he laughed.

"You'll hear it often enough once we're married," she smiled as she pushed him down on the bed and covered him with a blanket. "Now rest, you need all the sleep you can get."

"I can't sleep," he admitted to her.

"Why not?" Jess asked as she lay down next to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"I can't stop thinking."

"Then tell your brain to be quiet," she repeated to Dean what he had just said to her.

"I can't."

"Tell me why?" She asked soothingly and she felt Dean relax in her arms.

"Because I keep thinking about what Meg said about Sam. I keep thinking about all the demons that want him dead and I can't help thinking that maybe we're headed for something big that we can't avoid. I know that we're going to have to fight but if it's as bad as I think it's gonna be then I don't think we can win."

"Don't say that," she tried to reassure him. "You can't think that we're going to lose a war that hasn't even started yet."

"All those demons escaped and we can't send them all back to hell. There are demons out there that are far too powerful and I know that I can't protect you all from this."

"Dean you don't have to have the weight of the world on your shoulders all the time. You don't have to protect us."

"Yes I do. You, Mary, Sam; you're all the most important people in the world to me and I need to make sure that you're safe."

"And we will be safe but you can't take all this on by yourself. Things are going to get hard but we'll be just fine if we all stick together."

"Thanks, I think I needed to hear that."

"No problem," she smiled and ran her hand through his hair. "You're becoming very sentimental in your old age, you know that."

"Don't be fooled; it's just 'cos I'm hurt," he grinned. "We need to come up with a plan of attack."

"Do it later; now you have to sleep," she gently ordered him. She lay next to him until he fell asleep and then she made her way downstairs. She received a shock when she saw Sam sitting silently at the kitchen table. "Sam, are you okay?"

"I wish people would stop asking me that," he quietly replied.

"You don't look so good," she told him as she sat down next to him.

"I don't feel so good."

"Tell me what's wrong."

"I'm scared."

"What are you scared about?"

"I'm scared that I'll turn evil again. I'm scared that no matter how hard I try it's not gonna be enough and I'm going to end up hurting everyone."

"Sam, I'm sure that's not true."

"Meg said to me that I could have been so powerful that I could have ruled my own personal hell. What if that means I'm destined to be that person?"

"I don't think that's truth. I think that if you don't want to be evil then you can fight it. You have to fight it."

"I'm not sure if I can," he sadly told her.

"You can fight it. I know you can and Dean knows you can. We have faith in you now you just have to have faith in yourself."

"I wish I could."

"Sam what I am about to say I am saying out of love for you but get over this self-pitying attitude of yours and get your ass into gear for a fight otherwise I'm going to have to hurt you."

"What?" Sam said in shock.

"So you might turn evil again, so what?" She continued, "If you don't fight it then you're going to turn evil anyway so you have to make sure that you don't."

Sam sighed, "You're right," he said to her; his voice low and quiet. "I shouldn't just roll over; I have to fight."

"That's the spirit. I'm going to go and check on Mary again before I go to bed."

"You know you're obsessing, don't you?"

"I need to know that she's safe," Jess admitted to him. "I need to know that she's not going to disappear again."

"She won't disappear."

"That's what Dean said."

"Then Dean's right. You can stop worrying."

"I know I should," she told him as she stood up, "But I just can't seem to manage it."

"Just go to bed and I'll keep my eye on Mary," Sam promised. "You don't look like you've slept for days."

"Feels like I haven't slept for days."

"Then go to sleep," Sam instructed and pushed her towards the stairs. "Good night Jess."

"Good night Sam."

"I'll be up soon to check on Mary," he told her as she climbed the stairs. Jess crawled into bed next to Dean; who turned over in his sleep and draped his arm over her waist as she fell into a deep sleep for the first time in days.

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"So what are we gonna do?" Dean asked the next day as they all sat around a table to decide on a plan of action.

"We have to be prepared," Bobby said to him. "We need to get ready to fight."

"How do we do that; there are so many demons and we don't know where they escaped to," Sam moaned; still not feeling happy.

"But they'll more than likely go after you since they view you as a threat."

"So instead of going after the demons all we have to do is sit here and wait for them to kill me. Great."

"That's not the greatest of plans so how do we prepare in the meantime?" Jess asked.

"You should run," Sam turned to Dean and Jess and told them.

"What?" Dean asked; surprise filling his voice.

"The two of you should run; take Mary and get as far away as you can."

"We're not gonna do that," Dean protested but Sam cut him off.

"You should, Dean you were right about what you said in the hospital. You have different priorities now and we shouldn't force you back into your old life. You should run and hide so that Mary will be safe."

"No," Dean said in a tone of voice that meant he was deadly serious. "I am not going to leave you here to be killed by demons. We're in this together."

"Dean's right," Jess agreed. "If you fight then we fight."

"Thanks but I don't want to put you in danger."

"Sam, we're perfectly capable of putting ourselves in danger without your help," Dean joked. "So we're going to fight."

"Then we need a plan," Sam said to them; feeling a lot braver now he had the support of his family.

"Fighting isn't a plan?"

"Would you stop joking around, Dean?" Sam retorted.

"Who said I was joking. Bobby's right; fighting's the only option we have and we need to be ready because this demon is bad. The quicker we prepare, the stronger we'll be," Dean stood up from the table and headed to the door.

"Where are you going?" Jess asked him.

"To prepare," and that was all Dean offered as an explanation before he left.

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The kitty cat was sweet. It was white with black and brown splotches and it had big green eyes. So she killed it. It had tried to scratch her when she was playing it so she ripped it apart. Now her pretty dress was covered in blood and the parents of her human host were looking on in complete and absolute terror.

"Do you wanna play daddy?" She asked happily as the father stood and stared in horror.

"Sweetie, it's nearly time for bed," he managed to reply. "You don't want to be all tired tomorrow; you won't be able to play if you're tired."

She stood and thought for a moment before replying. "You're right," she grinned and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Let's get you ready for bed; you can't sleep in a dress covered in blood."

"Okay."

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"Where is he?" The little girl asked the man who had entered her room.

"We haven't found him yet," he admitted, "But we're working on it."

"You'd better hurry," the little girl pouted. "I'm wanna kill him. I need to kill him; he's my biggest theat and I'm not gonna rest until he's dead."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

"You came back," Lennie smiled and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so glad; I was really worried about you."

"I can't stay," he gently told her; breaking the embrace.

"Why not?"

"There's something that I have to do and I can't have you around," he replied cryptically.

"I don't know what you're trying to say but you're scaring me."

"I'm not trying to scare you. I'm just not sure how to tell you what I'm trying to tell you."

"Just try to tell me; I won't get mad I promise but I can't just stand here and wait for you to break up with me."

"Lennie; I don't want to break up with you but I need some time."

"Time for what?"

"I need some time to figure some things out."

"You're saying goodbye to me aren't you?" She realised and in that moment her heart broke. She had only known him for a short time but she had fallen completely and totally in love with him. He was sweet and kind and had a heart so open that she couldn't help but fall for him. She wasn't going to give him up so easily. "Is there someone else?" She had to ask even though she didn't think that was the reason. No; it went deeper than that, there was something about his demeanour that suggested there was more to this than met the eye.

"No," Sam confirmed; shaking his head for added emphasis. "Of course I'm not. There's no-one else; it's just me. "I need the time because I need to get my head together."

"Can't you just tell me why?" Lennie almost begged.

"If I told you then you would just think I'm crazy and you would hate me. I don't want you to hate me."

"I won't hate you; I could never hate you but I need to know why. Can't you just do that for me as you're about to dump me."

"Then can you promise me that you will listen to what I'm going to say and not make any judgement until I'm finished?" He asked her.

Lennie nodded, "I promise; come on in," she smiled gently and held the door open for him. He silently entered her home and sat down on the sofa; feeling uncomfortable and more than a little scared. What if he admitted everything to her and she rejected him; told him he was crazy and didn't want anything more to do with him. He was putting his entire heart and soul on the line by telling her everything and he just hoped she could understand.

It took him a while to summon up enough courage to speak; several times he opened his mouth and started to speak but then he stopped; unable to find the right words to say to her. Lennie was patiently sitting on the edge of the chair opposite him; her hands resting nervously in her lap as she waited for him to tell her.

"Do you remember what I told you about me and Jess?" He asked; his heart in his mouth.

"I remember," Lennie replied, nodding nervously. "What does that have to do with it?"

"That's when it all started, when Jess and me were together; well it doesn't completely start there but it's a good a place as any to start," he was babbling and he knew it but that didn't stop him. "Things were great for the longest time but then I started to have nightmares."

"Nightmares about what?"

"I had nightmares where she died; pinned to the ceiling and bursting into flames just like how my mom died."

"I don't understand what you're saying to me. How did your mom die?"

"She died when I was six months, you already know that; but what you don't know is that she was murdered," he paused. This was the make or break moment; the second he admitted his huge secret to her. "My mom was murdered by a demon."

"What?" She sounded a little sceptical but she didn't betray any emotion on her face.

"She was murdered by a demon and after that my dad spent the rest of his life trying to hunt the thing down. Dean always followed him no questions asked but I rebelled and I went to college to try to get away from it all but in the end I couldn't. When I started having nightmares about Jess, I took off. I tried to escape it but I couldn't. I met Meg shortly after…"

"She was a demon?" Lennie asked; looking slightly nauseous.

"Yeah she was and she played me real good. She convinced me that Dean and Jess were together and that I had to get revenge on them for betraying me. And I believed every single word she said. After that I trusted anything she said. When she told me that I should embrace my destiny I agreed without question. I killed people; I was going to kill Dean and Jess, Lennie," he saw the colour drain from her face as he admitted that. She raised her hand to her mouth before she stood up and ran towards the bathroom. He could hear the sound of her vomiting but he didn't go to her. He found himself rooted to his seat in horror. He had ruined everything; she was going to come out and tell him to get out.

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"How do you think things are going for Sam?" Dean asked as Jess watched him clean a gun. She looked nervous; she hadn't been around such weaponry for nearly a year and it wasn't the life she ever saw herself going back to.

"I don't know. I hope things are okay; he was so happy with Lennie."

"Are you okay? You seem a little quiet," he put the gun down and stood up before he moved over to her and rested his hand around her shoulder.

"I'm okay; I just feel a little uneasy with all the guns around."

"I understand, I don't want them around either but it's a necessary evil. As soon as this is over then we'll get rid of them."

"Thank you," she smiled and leaned into his embrace; taking a moment to enjoy the warmth of his body.

"How are you feeling?" He asked; his voice low and husky.

"I'm feeling scared," she admitted to him. "I'm feeling worried."

"Me too," he replied. "We need to get Mary away somewhere safe so she doesn't get caught in the crossfire."

"I know; I already called my mom and she's on her way. She's gonna take Mary back to her house until its safe."

"You're amazing, you know that?"

"Yeah I know," she smiled. "I'd better go and get Mary ready, can you clean this up so you don't freak out my mother?"

"Of course I can," he said to her and smiled back. "I'll be up soon to help out."

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Lennie stood in front of the mirror and stared at her reflection in the glass. Her eyes were rimmed red and a single tear had trickled down her face. Sam had just admitted to her that he was a murderer; she really didn't know what to say to him now. She didn't even think she could look him in the eye after what he had just told her. But she had promised to listen to everything he had to say and that's what she was going to do. Taking a deep breath; she wiped her eyes in a vain and hopeless attempt to make herself look presentable before she went back to Sam.

She found him sitting in the same position as before; he hadn't moved at all. "So you're a murderer?" She said; it probably wasn't the best thing to start with but it was the only thing that came into her head.

"Yeah," he replied quietly and bitterly. "It's not something I'm proud of."

"How many people have you killed?"

"I don't know."

"How can you not know?" She cried; starting to feel angry. "How can you kill someone and then go on like nothing ever happened? How can you not remember every little thing about the people that you murdered?"

"It feels like it happened to someone else sometimes," he said to her. "It feels like I'm standing and watching someone do all those horrible things but they're doing it in my body," Sam tried to explain as he felt a tear fall down his face. He wiped it away from his cheek with the back of his hand. "I hate myself for what I did. There are some days when I can't even look at myself because I feel sick to think about what I've done. I don't understand how Dean and Jess could forgive me for what I did to them but they did. I should be dead; I was stabbed but I didn't die. Sometimes I wish I had."

Lennie had no reply for what he had just said. She had felt so angry at him before but now she felt herself softening.

"I woke up in the hospital after I got stabbed and I felt like I had been given a second chance and that maybe I could put things right. So I left Meg and her demons behind and went to find my brother. He was so happy to see me. I thought that he would hate me but he didn't. He welcomed me back; he gave me a place to live and he never once judged me about any of this," he paused before continuing. "So that's the story of my life. Do you hate me?"

"I don't hate you," Lennie eventually replied. "I don't know what to think. It's a lot to take in; I've just found out that demons and evil things exist and that my boyfriend is involved in it all. I just found out that my boyfriend is a murderer. Why are you telling me all this now?"

"Because something big is coming and I have to fight it. There's a new demon around and she sees me as a threat to her power so she wants me dead."

"How can you be a threat to her power?"

"I don't know; all my psychic powers disappeared when Azazel died so I don't know why she would think that."

"Who's Azazel?"

"He's the demon that killed my mom; Meg's father. Dean killed him last year."

"I see," she whispered; but she didn't say anything further. She tried to keep her expression as neutral as possible but she found that hard because all she wanted was to scream.

"Lennie; I'm not asking you to trust me or for you to accept what I've just told you but I do need you to do something for me."

"And what is that?"

"I need you to leave town."

"What?"

"I need you to leave town," Sam repeated. "I need to know that you're safe."

"You can't just drop all of this on me and then tell me to leave."

"It's not safe here anymore. They're coming and they want me dead. I don't want to put you at risk; I need you to be safe."

Lennie sat there for a moment and pondered the options. From what Sam was saying she could either stay here and die or run and be safe. She didn't want to die but she also didn't want to leave Sam. Finally she made her decision. "Okay," she whispered. "I'll leave."

"Thank you," Sam told her and gave a sad smile.

"I'll just go and pack some things," she said as she stood up and walked to her bedroom. Sam stayed away; wanting to give her some privacy so he continued to sit on the sofa and waited for her to return.

A few minutes later Lennie returned. "You ready to go?" Sam asked; rising to his feet.

"I'm ready," she replied. "You know Sam it doesn't have to be this way," she told him.

"What doesn't?" He cautiously asked in reply.

"I don't have to run away."

"It'll be safer for you if you do go."

"That's not what I mean."

"I don't understand," Sam said to her but then he understood. She looked at him and her eyes were white. His eyes widened as she threw him against the wall.

"I like this body," she smiled sweetly but there was something disturbing about her. "I think I might keep it after I kill you."

"Who are you?"

"I think you already know. You've already been talking about me. I didn't like that; made my ears burn."

"Aren't you gonna introduce yourself then?" He asked; trying not to sound as terrified as he felt.

"Lilith," she told him. "I've been hearing some things about you Sam."

"That's good to know."

"I want you gone," her voice was light and childlike but with a hint of menace. Sam opened his mouth to speak but Lilith stopped him. "Don't speak," she told him. "I'm not going to have you as a threat to my power," She raised her hand and everything went white. Sam could hear Lilith laughing as she expected him to die. However when the light cleared he was still standing there. Lilith stared in shock; she hadn't expected that. He was more powerful than she and even he could imagine. "What?" She said in a surprised voice. "How?"

It was her turn to be terrified so she did the only thing she could think of. She ran and she took Lennie's body with her. Sam took off after her but by the time he made his way to the door she had disappeared. And so had Lennie.

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Sam ran home as fast as he could. Throwing the door open, he didn't bother to close it as he hurtled through the house to find Dean. He hammered at the bedroom door until a tired looking Dean opened the door.

"Sam, what is it?" He asked; noticing the look of terror on his brother's face. "Did something happen when you were at Lennie'?"

"They got Lennie."


	14. Chapter 14

**New Chapter time :D**

**Chapter Fourteen**

"What?" Dean asked; he couldn't take in what Sam was saying.

"They got Lennie. I was at her place and I told her she had to leave and she went to pack her stuff but when she came back she was possessed."

"She was possessed?" Dean asked another question; his sleep-y mind not really capable of processing this information.

"By Lilith; the demon that wants me dead."

"Her name is Lilith? What happened?" Dean asked; his voice low as he closed the bedroom door behind him and they made their way down the stairs. They sat down in the kitchen and Dean busied himself making coffee while Sam sat silently; not wanting to tell Dean the truth.

"Did Jess' mom pick up Mary?" Sam was trying to stall him for as long as he could.

"Yeah she was here a few hours ago," Dean replied as he sat down and placed a cup of coffee in front of Sam.

"You're missing her already aren't you?"

"Yeah, I miss her like crazy. Now you are going to tell me what happened," Dean repeated once more and Sam realised he would have to tell him the truth.

"She tried to kill me. I thought she was going to kill me. She had me pinned against the wall and she was taunting me. I thought I was dead."

"But she didn't kill you? What happened?"

"I don't know, I just didn't die. She was scared though. When she saw I wasn't dead; she was terrified and then she took off. What does this mean?"

"I don't know? Maybe she was scared of your hair," Dean tried to joke but he was feeling a little too nervous to make any real attempt at one. Sam retorted with a glare.

"You're hilarious. This is serious."

"What do you think it means?" Dean asked; his mind going back to what Meg had said about Sam being very powerful.

"I wish I knew. Maybe this is just final proof that I'm meant to be evil."

"Don't say that, Sam; it's not true and we both know that."

"You don't know that," Sam snapped and immediately regretted it. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I'm just scared."

"I know you're scared but if you don't pull yourself together then we're not gonna be able to help Lennie. You need to focus and concentrate on getting her back."

"I can't do this right now, Dean," Sam told him; standing up and knocking the chair onto the floor. "I just can't," he walked out of the room and Dean heard the door slam a few moments later.

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Sam hadn't returned by the next morning. Dean had stayed up for the rest of the night but his brother had not returned and now he was worried. Jess and Bobby were discussing where he might have gone but Dean didn't participate.

"We should call the hospital, something might have happened to him," Jess suggested, her face filled with worry. "He could've gone after the demons himself and got himself hurt."

"I don' think he would be that stupid," Bobby replied.

"Lilith possessed his girlfriend; it's probably gonna make him very angry. He might try and get revenge."

"Maybe he just ended up at some bar and drank too much."

"Maybe," Jess agreed. "We should check the bars."

"We need to find Lilith," Dean spoke in a quiet voice.

"What?" Jess asked; not quite sure what he had just said.

"We need to find Lilith," Dean repeated. "She's the reason why he ran off and he'll probably go after her once he's figured out where she is so we need to find her first. He's gonna want to make her pay."

"I might have something to find her," Bobby told them. "It's something I've been workin' on for while."

"Then you work on that and we'll try and track Sam down," Dean replied as he stood up and grabbed his jacket from the sofa. "I'll check one half of town you check the other," he said to Jess as he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Be careful."

"I will be," she smiled at him. "Call me if you find him."

"You too," he replied before they all headed out.

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Sam sat there enjoying the quiet. Well, enjoying was probably too strong a word at this moment since his stomach had a giant knot in it that refused to disappear. He had stormed out the previous night intent on finding Lilith and making her pay for what she had done but he had realised that he wouldn't achieve anything by doing that. He couldn't kill her because she was currently inside Lennie and, besides; he didn't even have the Colt to kill her. Now he was sat on the bench where he had met Lennie and he felt very low.

He didn't know what to do. He so desperately wanted to save her but he just didn't know how. He also needed to stop Lilith permanently but he couldn't do that without killing Lennie. He was faced with an impossible choice and he just couldn't come up with a solution.

Sam knew that Dean, Jess and Bobby would be worried about him but he just couldn't summon up the energy to care. Right now he just wanted to be alone.

"You look as though you could use a drink," a voice came from behind him. He didn't turn around to reply.

"How'd you know I'd be here Jess?"

"This is where you met Lennie so I just guessed?"

"How'd you know that?"

"I'm a woman; I remember everything a man does in order to use it against him later on. So do you want that drink?" She asked as she handed him a cup of coffee.

"That's not what I had in mind."

"It's not even midday; how can you want a drink this early?"

"It's been a crappy coupl'a days."

"So I've heard. Dean's looking for you now."

"You gonna call him to tell him where I am?"

"I will eventually but I though you and I could have a little talk first."

"I don't really feel like talking."

"Tough you don't have a say in the matter. I think that you need someone to talk to. Someone who's not going to make inappropriate jokes and shy away from the touchy feely crap as a certain person who will remain nameless likes to do," Sam had to laugh at Jess talking about Dean.

"I did talk to someone last night."

"But you need to talk to someone who already knows about your darkest secrets and who isn't going to judge you for it."

"She never had the chance to get used to it. She might have told me she was okay with it but Lilith possessed her before she could tell me," Jess understood that Sam needed to believe that for his own sanity so she didn't try to contradict him. "I need to find her."

"I know you do and we will. Bobby's searching for Lilith now," Jess told him and then Sam became quiet.

"Do you ever think what would have happened if things had been different?" He eventually asked in a quiet voice. It was so quiet that Jess almost didn't hear him.

"What do you mean?"

"What would have happened if we'd all made different choices. Like if I had never listened to Meg or if I'd never left in the first place. Maybe this mess might never have happened."

"I'm going to tell you something," Jess said to him and Sam looked her in the eye. "Something happened just after you died. For a little while we kept on hunting before I got pregnant and one night when we were on a hunt something happened."

"What happened?"

"Something attacked me and when I woke up it was like I was in a different world."

"I don't know what you're talking about?" Sam sounded very confused.

"I'm not explaining this very well am I?" Jess said to him. "It was like a dream but it wasn't a dream."

"I still have no idea what you're talking about."

"I woke up and I was in this world that was exactly like this one but it was slightly different."

"Like an alternate universe?"

"Exactly."

"Then what was different?"

"You never left," she told him. "When Dean came to get you that night you were there and you went with him."

"What about you?"

"I died."

"You died?" Sam asked; sounding shocked and saddened.

"Yeah, Azazel killed me to get you hunting again."

"So I did?"

"Yeah you did with Dean and then you died so he sold his soul to get you back. He only got a year before he went to Hell."

"That's not such a good world."

"No," Jess agreed. "So no matter what you think maybe the way things happened was for the best. Things could have been a lot worse than they are. Maybe once we find Lilith and send her back to Hell and Lennie isn't possessed anymore then everything will turn out okay."

"I hope so," Sam replied but he didn't really believe it anymore. "So you really died?"

"Yes," Jess nodded. "That made for a very awkward conversation."

"I can imagine."

"Come on we need to get back before Dean has a complete breakdown," she said as she stood up and reached out her hand for Sam to grab. He took it and stood up. "For what it's worth I really don't think that you're ever going to be evil again. As I said before you have a choice and you don't have to be evil. If you do have all these powers than why can't you use it for good as well as evil?"

"I never thought about it like that," Sam admitted as they began to walk back.

"There you go, things don't look quite so bleak now do they?" Jess asked and Sam silently nodded. "NO we really need to get this over with so I can see my daughter again."

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"Where the hell did you go?" Dean demanded when Sam walked back through the door.

"I just needed time to think."

"And you had to run off to do that? Anything could've happened because if you hadn't noticed a very powerful demon wants you dead."

"Yeah and we need to find her," Sam snapped back. "Has Bobby found her yet?"

"He's working on it. He said it might take a little time and he'd call once he found something."

"So we're sitting around and waiting."

"What else can we do? We don't even know where she is and from what I've heard about her we're not going in unless we're fully prepared."

"I'm not scared of her," Sam insisted.

"Well I am," Dean admitted. "I'm scared of any demon who can kill an entire room full of people with the wave of her incredibly evil hand."

"She couldn't kill me."

"Yeah and we still haven't figured out whether or not that's a good thing so we wait and come up with a plan that doesn't end in certain death for us all."

"Dean's right, Sam," Jess said; agreeing with Dean. "We can't fight until we know exactly what we're dealing with. SO for now we just sit tight and hope she doesn't find us first."

"I know," Sam admitted in defeat. "I know you're both right but I just don't want sit around here feeling useless."

"I know how you're feeling," Dean said to him, "But you can't just go in half-cocked."

"When did you get so level headed?" Sam half joked. "You used to be the one to act first and think of the consequences later."

"I did not," Dean protested.

"Whatever, it must be something that happens in old age," Sam quickly grinned at Dean's mock insulted face.

"Can't we just get back on topic here or are we all just gonna insult me?" Dean asked and Sam nodded in agreement.

"You're right again. Do you have a plan?" Sam asked and Dean stood there with a small grin on his face as he answered.

"I think I might have a plan."


	15. Chapter 15

**Next chapter time. If anyone is wondering I've started writing the sequel to If I Fell and I'll post it when I've thought of a title.**

**Chapter Fifteen**

Lilith was bored. Hiding was no fun; she wanted to go out and play. She wanted to find some unsuspecting humans to kill, to remove their flesh from their bones and to laugh as she did so. She wanted to find Sam and cause him some pain.

But she had to hide for now. She really hadn't counted on him surviving her attack and now she didn't know what she was going to do. He was going to come after her eventually so she needed to prepare for this. Next time she wouldn't fail and Sam would die.

It had been fun to see his face when she had taken over the body of his girlfriend. It had been filled with fear and pain and it had hurt him more than her attack had. The body was fun though. Lilith rarely frequented the body of adults, she much preferred children but there was something about this body that fascinated her. Maybe it was the fact that she was Sam's girlfriend that did it; the power she now held over him was far greater than trying to kill him. Or maybe it was Lennie screaming from deep inside; begging to be freed. Hearing a person beg for their life and even their body brought Lilith no end of pleasure.

Now all she had to do was take out Sam.

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"I have to say that's a pretty dumb plan," Sam told Dean after he had finished explaining what they should do to hunt down Lilith.

"What's wrong with it?"

"It'll almost certainly cause us all certain death."

"And your idea of storming in all by yourself was the safest plan ever."

"Your plan isn't too far away from that. It's one step away from walking up to her and begging for her to kill us."

"It's not that bad."

"Dean you are suggesting using me as bait to lure her here so you can trap her and exorcise her. There are far too many flaws to that plan. Especially the part where I'm being used as bait."

"Sam it's the only plan we've got. At least this way we can do it on our terms."

Sam sighed and thought about what his brother was saying. It was true they didn't have a lot of options at this time. "Maybe you're right," he conceded. The phone started to ring.

"I'll get it," Jess said as she stood up to answer the phone. She had remained silent throughout the entire debate; not sure what to say about everything so she stayed quiet. She had jumped at the chance to answer the phone and escape from all the tension for a little while.

"We don't have to do this if you don't want to," Dean said to Sam.

"I don't think there's any other option. The plan still sucks though."

"That was Bobby," Jess announced as she returned. "He's found Lilith and he's coming over now."

"It'll all be over soon," Sam muttered quietly to himself, not intending for anyone to hear him but Dean did. And he looked very nervous.

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"She's staying local," Bobby told them all when he arrived.

"That's a bit of a dumb thing for her to do," Dean commented, gripping a mug of coffee between his fingers.

"She might've run off scared but she's not gonna stop. She's just planning her next move."

"Then we need to act first."

"How do we get her to come after me?" Sam asked. "Or do I just stand outside, wave my arms and yell come and get me?"

"You're funny," Bobby said sarcastically.

"You got a better idea?"

"Call her," Dean suggested.

"Call her?" Sam repeated. "You want to call her?"

"Yeah," Dean looked at him with a completely straight face. Sam wasn't getting it so he explained. "She possessed Lennie so maybe she still has Lennie's phone. Call her and say that you want to make a deal and get her to come here."

"What makes you think that she would go for it?"

"Because she's desperate to kill you. Maybe she'll throw caution to the wind and just go for it."

"There's an awful lot of maybes in your suggestion."

"Well we won't know unless we try. What do you all say?"

"If you want her here then it makes most sense," Bobby said; agreeing with Dean.

"What about you Jess?" Sam asked. She hadn't said anything since Bobby had arrived.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "I think that we're all pretty much screwed whatever we do so it won't make any difference how we get her here so we can die."

"You need a little faith," Dean told her and wrapped his arm over her shoulder. "If we die then at least we'll die in style."

"As much as I love you for your sense of humour I really don't think this is the time for jokes."

"Who says I was joking? If we're going to do this then we need to get prepared."

"I'll go and get some holy water," Bobby volunteered.

"I'll go with him, you two get the devil's trap ready," Sam said as he stood up and followed Bobby out of the house leaving Dean and Jess alone.

"I know you're worried and if you don't want to do this then you can go and stay with your parents. It's up to you."

"It's okay, I'll stay. If I went then I would just spend all my time worrying about you so I might as well stay and help somehow. Where's the paint?"

"In the closet. Do we still have any of that pink paint that we used to paint Mary's room? I think Lilith would like a pink trap."

"You think about these sorts of things far too much," Jess managed to smile as she reached into the closet to pick out the paint can. "Here," she handed it to him.

"Aww I was hoping it would be pink."

"I'm sure you'll get over it. Let's just get this done so we're ready."

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Sam held his phone in his hands; trying to summon the courage to phone Lennie's phone to lure Lilith. His heart was in his mouth and he felt sick to think of what Lennie would be going through with an evil demon inhabiting her body. Then it gave him a renewed sense of purpose. He needed to save her.

"I thought you'd be calling me, Sammy," Lennie's voice came from down the phone. Sam gripped the phone so tight in his hand that his knuckles began to turn white. "What can I do for you?"

"I want you to get out of Lennie," he hissed through clenched teeth.

"Not gonna happen."

"Then I want you dead."

"Also, not gonna happen. Try again."

"I don't want to challenge you. I don't want to lead an army of demons. Just let Lennie go and I won't bother you. You can do all the killing that you want if you just leave us alone."

"I'm not stupid, Sammy; I know that you want me dead and I'm not going to stop until you are stone cold."

"Then come and get me. You know where to find me. I'm going to show you that I'm not a threat so all you have to do is turn up and slit my throat if that's what you want."

"And why should I believe that?"

"Because I'm tired," he told her. "I'm tired of fighting, I'm tired of spending my days looking over my shoulder because a demon might attack and I'm tired of worrying that one day I might become evil. I wish that I had never lived after Azazel died. I want it to be over and if that means I have to die then so be it. I want you to kill me."

"You know I'd be more than happy to oblige."

"Then come to my house and finish it like the big bad demon that you're supposed to be. I'll be waiting," Sam told her and hung up the phone.

"Is she coming?" Dean asked.

"I think she will," Sam replied as he turned to face him; a worried expression on his face. "You'd better go and hide in case she comes. I don't want her to know you're here."

"Okay," Dean said to him but the look on his face was contradictory. He didn't like what Sam had said to Lilith on the phone and couldn't help but wonder if Sam really would let her kill him to end all this. He just hoped he could be in a position to intervene if Sam decided to turn this into a suicide mission.

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Sam knew she had arrived long before she let her presence known. He could feel her. He steeled himself and prepared to face the demon who had taken the body of his girlfriend once more.

"I knew you'd come," he said without looking at her. He couldn't bring himself to look at Lennie.

"I just couldn't stay away," Lilith smiled and took a step towards Sam. "I've been wanting to do this for such a long time."

"You couldn't manage it before," Sam smirked mirthlessly but he still didn't turn around. It began to unnerve Lilith.

"Aren't you gonna look at me while I kill you. As much as I like stabbing people in the back I wanna see the light go out of your eyes," Sam slowly began to turn around; his eyes cold and dark. "There you are," she laughed and took another step.

And then she found she was trapped. Sam looked up and Lilith's eyes followed. She saw the devil's trap painted on the season.

"I wasn't going to make it easy for you."

"Do you really think that something as pathetic as that is gonna stop me for more than a second?" She asked as she raised her hand and the room began to shake. The ceiling cracked and the devil's trap was broken. Lilith stepped forward as if nothing had happened and grabbed hold of Sam and slammed him against the wall. "Say goodbye."

"Not gonna happen," Dean said from behind and Lilith heard a click. She let go of Sam and turned to see Dean standing in the doorway holding a gun.

"I wondered what had happened to the Colt," she smirked.

"Well now you know. I should kill you solely for the reason that you messed up my house," Dean threatened; looking up at the cracked ceiling.

"You're not going to kill me. You can't without killing Sam's precious little girlfriend. I'm gonna kill you though."

"Try it."

Lilith hurled herself at Dean but Dean was prepared for that. He threw the Colt to Sam as he grabbed Lilith and threw her to the ground. Lilith was mad. She was going to make Dean suffer.

"Dean; you need to run," Sam warned. "NOW!" He shouted so Dean scrambled to his feet. "Get Jess out of here."

Dean disappeared from the room leaving Sam alone with Lilith. She was on her knees; about to stand up when Sam came up behind her and placed the gun against her head.

"Could you really kill Lennie?" Lilith asked.

"Lt's not find out," Sam menacingly threatened. "Leave her body and I will let you live for now. If you don't then I will shoot."

"I don't think you have the guts."

"Wanna bet?" He asked and fired the gun into Lennie's arm. "Next one goes into her heart."

"Fine, have it your way; I'll let her live. But the next time I see you I will kill you," she agreed and Lennie's head threw back as a cloud of black smoke erupted from her mouth as Lilith left her body. Lennie then collapsed to the ground, crying in pain and fear.

Sam's bravado immediately disappeared once Lilith was gone and Lennie was back to herself. He wondered if he should he go over to her and comfort her but something stopped him. Would she want him to?

Eventually he pushed his fears aside and went to her. Kneeling down; he took her in his arms and held her close as she cried. She didn't push him away, instead she did the opposite. She grabbed hold of him and didn't let him go.

"It's okay," he soothed. "It's going to be okay."

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"What do we do now?" A demon asked Lilith. She was still getting used to her new body and she was very cranky at having to leave Lennie. It was yet another victory for Sam.

"We wait for the perfect opportunity. In the meantime we hide and come up with a plan."

"But Sam's already beaten you twice. What makes you think that he won't kill you the next time he sees you?"

"Because I won't let myself be played by him anymore. Next time we meet it'll be on my terms."

"I hope you're right. I don't want to be on the wrong side when the time comes."

"It's not the end just yet," Lilith smiled as she walked over to her demon henchman and uncapped a bottle of holy water. She threw it at him for showing such insolence and he screamed in pain. "It's just the beginning."


	16. Chapter 16

**This is the penultimate chapter (I had to end it somewhere). I'm planning on continuing this but I want to see where season 4 heads first (and I want to work on other fics).  
**

**Chapter Sixteen**

"How's your arm?" Sam asked as Bobby finished patching Lennie up. They had all gone to Bobby's to hide out and regroup for the time being. Sam had been keeping his distance from Lennie since they had arrived, instead choosing to stand by the window away from her.

"It's fine," she mumbled. "Just hurts."

"Here take these," smiled sympathetically as she handed Lennie some pills. Lennie gratefully took them and swallowed them without water. Jess sat down next to Lennie. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay, a little scared. Okay I'm more than a little scared; I'm terrified and I don't know what to do."

"Hey guys, do you mind if Lennie and I go and take a little walk?" Jess asked.

"Sure. Go ahead," Dean said; taking a moment to hold Jess' hand. The both stood up and Jess kissed Dean before they left but Lennie couldn't bring herself to look at Sam. "Just be careful," Dean whispered to Jess.

"We will be," Jess promised. "We will come straight back if anything happens."

"We'll stay here and try to figure out a way to stop Lilith."

"Do you know where she is?"

"Yeah, she's nowhere near here at the moment so we should be okay but you should still be prepared. Take some holy water with you."

"I will," said as she grabbed some holy water and gave him a look to say she wasn't that stupid. "We won't be long," she said before she and Lennie left.

"So what now?" Dean asked Bobby and Sam.

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"Thanks for getting me out of there for a while," Lennie smiled gratefully at Jess as they walked down the street. "It was just a little overwhelming."

"I know what you mean. You really got thrown into this world didn't you?"

"It wasn't the way I ever wanted to find out something like this was real. How did you find it out?"

"I found out when Dean told me. It's not like he sugar coated it or anything; he just told me ten minutes after we met," Jess smiled at the memory. "That was a very dean thing to do. He's not the best when it comes to breaking things gently. It actually came in handy when a demon tried to kill me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I didn't die," Jess laughed as though it was a joke.

"You and Dean seem really happy together."

"We are. We've been through too much not to really. I just wish this was over because I really miss Mary."

"Where is she?"

"She with my parents," Jess explained. "We didn't want her around so much danger."

"That's fair enough."

"Doesn't stop me from missing her though."

"I guess so," Lennie said before she went quiet. "I don't really know how I feel about this. I still want to believe that this world doesn't exist even after everything I went through. Does that sound stupid?" She spoke eventually; her voice soft but filled with fear.

"No, I think it sounds normal. It's a lot to get your head around but you'll be okay."

"I hope so," Lennie sighed. "It was the scariest thing that has ever happened to me. I could see and feel everything that she did in my body and I couldn't do anything to stop her."

"It must have been awful; I can't imagine what that would have been like."

"Of course being shot by Sam wasn't that much fun either," Lennie laughed mirthlessly as she looked at her bandaged arm.

"Have you talked to him yet?"

"Not yet; I don't know what I'm going to say to him. I don't know whether I should trust him or not."

"You should trust him," Jess told her. "He's an amazing guy and he'd do anything to protect you."

"Even shoot me?"

"I don't think he had any other choice. Lilith wasn't going to let you go so he forced her hand."

"How can you trust him after everything he put you through? He left you and then he tried to kill you."

"Because he's not that person any more. He's proved to me that he's not a threat and he will prove that to you too. You just have to give him a chance. Lennie you have made his life so much better in the time he's known you so don't just throw it away because of his past."

"I need to talk to him don't I?"

"You need to talk to him," Jess agreed.

"I'd better do that now before things get any worse."

"I think you'd better. Come on, let's go back."

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"Sam can I talk to you for a moment?" Lennie asked when she and Jess returned. Lennie stood in the doorway while Jess sat down next to Dean and began to look at the book he was staring at. Lennie couldn't help but smile at how sweet they looked together. There was a part of her that hoped one day she and Sam would be like that.

"Sure," Sam said quietly and followed her out of the house.

"She's going to talk to him," Jess explained after seeing the confused look on Dean's face.

"How is she?"

"Scared but I think that if they talk then they'll work things out."

"What do you want to talk about?" Sam shyly asked Lennie as they made their way outside Bobby's house.

"I want to talk about everything. I just don't know where to start."

"I'm sorry I shot you."

"I know you are and I don't blame you for what you did. You did what you had to do to save me from Lilith and I suppose its better that being possessed. We never really finished the conversation we started the other night."

"How do you feel about it all?"

"It's not something I'm going to get used to any time soon but I know that I will. Jess told me that I shouldn't give up on you because you're an amazing guy."

"She said that?"

"Not in so many words but I already knew that really. I should have trusted you the other night and I shouldn't have reacted the way that I did."

"You reacted exactly the way you should have. I would've been more worried if you hadn't been completely freaked out by it. I did kill people after all."

"I guess I just needed something like a little possession to make me realise that I don't want to lose you. You make me feel safe." Sam smiled at her confession and took her hand in his. Lennie hesitated for a moment before she wrapped her arms around his chest and pulled him into a hug. "You'll keep me safe won't you?"

"I'll keep you safe," he promised and he meant it.

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Lilith was bored again. Hiding wasn't fun. Neither was potentially being killed by a floppy haired human who was a challenge to her power. Twice she had faced him and twice she was the one to come off worse. The next time they faced each other she would be victorious.

"Do we know where he is?" Lilith asked one of her demons who had been out.

"He's hiding out at Singer's place," the demon confirmed. "We've been casing the place for the last few hours."

"He's so predictable. I could have guessed he'd go there. Come on we need to prepare, we need t be ready to kill him."

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"They're out there," Dean observed as he saw demons lurking outside. "They don't seem to want to come and play though."

"They'll be waiting for Lilith for turn up. They'll have orders not to kill because she wants to do it herself."

"Then we need to get out of here," Lennie said, the panic rising in her voice. She had spent the day flicking through Bobby's books trying to bring herself up to speed with everything she needed to know. However the more she read the more scared she became. It was all too much for her to take. "We need to run."

"We can't run," Sam explained to her. "She'll just find us no matter where we go. The only way to stop her is to send her back to Hell or to kill her."

"Then why don't you?"

"Because if we kill her then we'll also kill the human she's possessing," Dean told her, moving away from the window. "And Lilith likes to possess little girls."

"So you don't want to kill her if you don't have to? How do you send her back to hell?"

"An exorcism ritual," Dean continued. "The only problem with that is we can't trap her because she can get out of the devil's trap no problem. The only way we can do this ritual is if we surprise her and after the last time I don't think she's gonna like that. She'll be prepared for all eventualities."

"Then what do we do?"

"The only thing we can do," Sam said to her, "Stay one step ahead of her."

"How do we do that?"

"Dean, those symbols you used to hide the house from demons; where did you find them?"

"Here," Jess picked up a book and threw it to Sam. "They were in there." Sam opened the book and flicked through it until he found the symbols he was looking for.

"Why do you need those?" Lennie asked, feeling as though she was being left completely out of the loop."

"They are protection symbols," Sam explained to her. "We're gonna use them for protection. This book is amazing," he told Dean. "Here, we can use this," he said and handed the book over to Dean and Jess who looked at the page he was pointing at.

"Hex bags?" Dean asked. "That's witchcraft. I hate witchcraft."

"Witches are real?" Lennie asked. It was just one more thing for her to take in.

"Yeah and they're very unhygienic," Dean told her. "They're all about teeth and rabbit guts. It's disgusting."

"Only you could boil centuries of practice into one sentence like that," Sam teased.

"Well it's true."

"But these hex bags would come in useful. If we can sneak in without being noticed then we can get to Lilith and send her back to Hell without getting ourselves killed."

"Fine, I'll go and get the stuff we need," Dean said as he stood up and grabbed his jacket before he headed to the door. "I won't be long."

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"So they really can't see us?" Dean asked Sam as they staked out the house Lilith was currently hiding out.

"Nope, we're completely hidden from them. They won't see us until it'll be too late."

"Great so when do we attack?"

"When the time is right. We need to stay hidden for the moment though."

"So we're just waiting here like sitting ducks?"

"Pretty much, just ducks who can't be seen."

Dean laughed at Sam's comment, "When have you been able to tell a joke?"

"What do you mean? I can tell a joke as well as the next person," Sam tried to sound offended at Dean but he couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"Yeah you just keep convincing yourself of that," Dean laughed but then he became quiet.

"You okay?" Sam asked.

"I'm fine, I just want this over with," Dean admitted.

"Me too," Sam said to him. "But I don't think that it's ever gonna be over."

"What do you mean?"

"No matter if we get rid of Lilith there are always going to be more demons who want to take her place. And I can't just sit here and let that happen. Once we've done this then I'm gonna start hunting again."

"What about Lennie?"

"I don't know. All I do know is that I have to do something."

"It's kinda ironic that you spent so long running from hunting and now you're gonna embrace it."

"Yeah."

"I always thought that I would spend the rest of my life hunting."

"You enjoyed it."

"I used to enjoy it but you were right."

"Right about what?"

"About getting out of that life. I think that if I'd continued hunting then it would have killed me. It nearly did."

"I need to do this."

"I know you do but that doesn't mean that I can't try to talk you out of it."

"It's time," Sam said; changing the subject without replying to Dean's last comment. He opened the car door and stepped out. "Let's get this over with."

They sneaked into the house as silently as they could and headed up the stairs to find Lilith. Dean stopped Sam from moving ahead when he heard talking. He silently peeked around the door and saw a little girl with a tall man. Her eyes were white.

"There she is," Dean whispered to Sam. "You ready Sammy?"

"I was born ready."

"But are you ready now?" Dean joked.

"Just get on with it," Sam shook his head and they silently made their way into the room.

The first Lilith knew they were there was when Dean threw holy water at her demon companion and he screamed in pain.

"They're here," Lilith said to him and Dean threw away the hex bag so they could see him.

"You want me then come and get me," he said to the demon and hurried out of the room.

"Go after him," Lilith demanded and the demon ran after him. "You can come out now too Sammy. Don't want you to miss all the fun," she smiled as Sam stepped out of the shadows.

"When we came here I promised Dean I would kill you."

"Where's the fun in that?"

"He said that because you were possessing a little girl then we shouldn't kill you but send you back to Hell. Unfortunately I don't really agree," he said as he pulled the Colt from the pocket of his jacket and pointed it at her head.

"Do you really want the cold blooded murder of a child on your conscience?" Lilith asked in her most sweet and innocent voice possible.

"I think that if it means that you are out of the picture permanently then the end justifies the means."

"Well you did shoot your own girlfriend so I guess that you really don't have that much of a conscience."

"It's not like you do."

"But I'm a demon, I'm not supposed to. You're a human you're supposed to think this sort of thing is wrong."

"Maybe I think that being good is overrated. Maybe I just want you out of the way so I can take over."

"What happened to wanting to be normal?"

"Maybe I want to be extraordinary."

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Dean grinned as the black smoke left the poor guy it had possessed. The guy collapsed to the ground and gave a loud groan so Dean knew that he had survived his ordeal. After taking a moment to make sure he was okay; Dean headed back up the stairs.

He could hear Sam and Lilith talking and what he heard unnerved him. He could hear Sam talking about how he was going to kill Lilith when that wasn't part of the plan. He didn't even know that Sam had brought the Colt with him. He crept back over to the door and saw Sam pointing it at Lilith's head and for a moment he thought that Sam had turned evil again.

But then Sam turned to him slightly and gave him a nod and Dean realised that he was distracting her. He flipped the book open to the page with the exorcism ritual and began to mutter quietly; trying not to be noticed just yet.

Sam cocked the Colt and prepared to shoot. "You can't kill me so I'm going kill you."

"You're not gonna kill me," Lilith laughed. "You're just trying to distract me while your stupid brother exorcises me," she turned and looked directly at Dean. "Do I look stupid enough to fall for that?" She flung out her arm and Dean flew across the room and crashed to the floor in a heap. "Do you think he's dead?" Lilith grinned as Sam hurried over to his brother; sighing in relief when he found Dean was still breathing. "Shame."

Sam was ready. He wasn't going to let her win so he grabbed the book Dean had been reading from.

"Are you gonna read from your little book?"

"I don't need to?" Sam grinned and threw it to the floor. He stared at her straight in the eyes and began to recite the exorcism ritual from heart. Lilith's eyes widened in horror as she realised that there was nothing she could do. Sam was immune to her power and no matter how hard she tried she could not stop him.

"NOOOOOO!!" She screamed as she felt herself being ripped from the body. Black smoke began to pour out of the little girl's mouth and Lilith couldn't hold on anymore. She was going back to Hell.

Sam collapsed to the floor as Lilith disappeared and gave a huge sigh of relief. It was over for now. "Dean are you okay?"

"Ow," Dean groaned as he began to come around. "Is it over?"

"It's over," Sam smiled. "It's definitely over."


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: And so we reach the end of this story.  
**

**Chapter Seventeen**

Two Days Later

"So there's been no demonic activity since?" Dean asked Bobby. They had been staying at his house for a few days since his home was in desperate for repairs. He and Jess were preparing to leave to go and pick up Mary from Jess' parents.

"They've all scattered and gone to ground since Lilith went back to hell. They have no leader."

"But they're not gone for good," Dean said; it was not a question.

"They'll be back when they have a new leader. Probably won't be for a while though."

"Good, means we have time. I'm gonna go check on Sam," he said as he headed off to find Sam.

Sam was back at the house; packing up his things. He looked up at his brother when Dean walked into the room.

"You sure you want to be here, the ceiling looks like it's about to collapse?"

"It's not like I'm staying though is it?" Sam replied.

"So you're really going?"

"A lot of demons escaped from the devil's gate and they aren't gonna stand around and exorcise themselves."

"I'm gonna miss you. I just got used to having my little brother around again."

"I've been here almost a year."

"Yeah but you were gone for over two. Have you talked to Lennie yet?"

"Not yet," Sam admitted. "I'm going to talk to her now. What are you gonna do now?"

"I got a lot to do. I have a wedding to plan; which you will be here for under pain of death, and Mary's nearly a year old so gotta plan a party and this house isn't going to fix itself."

"So back to that ordinary life of yours?"

"Yeah," Dean smiled but then he went quiet. "If I didn't have so much responsibility then I would be going with you, you do know that?"

"I know, but you're right. You do have responsibilities and Mary deserves to grow up in a world where she's not in constant danger."

"You will be careful though, and you gotta call at least once a day."

"This normal life is turning you into a girl; you do know that?"

"Shut up dude, I'm being serious."

"I know and it doesn't suit you," Sam grinned as he walked over to his brother and pulled him into an embrace.

"And you think I'm girly?" Sam heard Dean say; his voice muffled by Sam's shoulder but he didn't pull away.

Eventually Sam pulled away. "I should go and talk to Lennie. I'll be back later to say goodbye."

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"You're leaving?" Lennie asked, not trying to hide the shock and disappointment in her voice. She didn't want Sam to leave.

"I have to. I have to go and hunt these demons."

"You don't have to go. You could stay here with me."

"I can't do that and you know why. I can't just sit around and watch people die when there is something that I can do."

"But I don't want you to go," Lennie's voice was small and full of sadness.

"I wish there was anther way."

The Lennie had an idea. "I could come with you," she told him. "You could teach me how to hunt and we could do this together,"

"That's not such a good idea; I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Why not? Dean taught Jess, they went hunting together so why can't we. I'd rather go hunting with you than stay here all alone."

"You're not taking no for an answer are you?"

"Nope," Lennie smiled and kissed Sam. "I'm coming with you so you'd better get used to it."

"The moment it gets too dangerous I'm bringing you straight back home," Sam gave in and allowed her to come.

"Thank you," Lennie hugged Sam. "I won't let you down."

"Come on, I gotta go and say goodbye to Dean and Jess before they leave to go and get Mary."

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Three months later

Mary was almost a year old and growing more and more beautiful by the day. Dean stood over her crib watching her sleep, just as he had done when she had been born. He thought back over the previous year and what had happened with both happiness and sadness. It was a year he wouldn't want to change for the world; he had Jess and he had Mary and he got Sam back for a short while.

Sam was doing fine. He had kept up his promise and called everyday with an account of what he and Lennie were up to. He seemed to be happy; the nomadic lifestyle really suited him and Lennie. But he was coming back for the wedding, also like he had promised. He was the best man after all.

There had been no more demon attacks; much to Dean's relief. From what Sam had told him; they were still leaderless and divided as Lilith hadn't found a way to crawl her way out of Hell just yet. Sam had found a number of demons and sent them back to Hell but they had been solitary and not connected in any way.

"What are you thinking about?" Jess asked as she walked into Mary's room. She wrapped her arms around Dean's waist and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm thinking about everything. I'm thinking about Mary and the fact she's nearly a year old and you and the wedding and Sam."

"Wow your head must be pretty crowded," she said as she kissed the crook of his neck.

"What are you thinking about?"

"The same thing pretty much. There's so much to do and not a lot of time to do it."

"I know what you mean," Dean said to her as he twisted around so he was facing Jess. "Do you think you're ready?"

"I know I'm ready," she smiled. "When are Sam and Lennie arriving?"

"The day after tomorrow. They're gonna come for Mary's party and the wedding before they head off again. I have to admit it'll be good to see them again."

"Talking on the phone isn't the same as seeing then in person is it?"

"Not really; it kinda sucks to be honest."

"Come to bed. I can think of a few ways to stop you thinking so much."

"You're seducing me again aren't you?" He jokingly asked as he leaned in to kiss her.

"You catch on quick," she smiled and pulled him in for another kiss and they both stood there for several minutes just enjoying the kiss before Dean took her by the hand and led her out of Mary's room and towards their own.

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"You're nervous aren't you?" Lennie asked Sam as she watched him straighten his shirt for the tenth time since they had left the car.

"No," Sam lied as he pulled at his shirt once more.

"He's your brother; you don't need to be nervous when you're seeing him."

"I'm not nervous," Sam insisted as he made his way up the path and stopped in front of the door. "Should I knock?"

"You used to live here; I don't think you need to knock," Lennie grinned at Sam's obvious discomfort.

"I think I should knock," Sam told her but before he got the chance the door opened.

"Sam, you're here," Dean said happily as he pulled the door open wider so they could enter the house. "You're early, the party hasn't started yet." Sam and Lennie entered the house.

"You redecorated," Sam noticed.

"Yeah, once I fixed the ceiling I thought it'd be nice to have a little change," Dean explained as he led them into the living room where Jess was sitting on the floor with Mary.

"Dada," Mary exclaimed happily and crawled over to Dean who kneeled down to pick her up and held her in his arms.

"She's talking?" Sam asked; amazed at how much she had changed in the three months he'd been away.

"Yeah, she won't shut up now. She's not quite walking yet but she's getting there," Dean replied as he looked at his daughter with great pride. Jess stood up and hugged Sam and Lennie.

"Let me take your coats," she offered and took them as well as the present they had brought for the party. "Do you want some coffee?" She asked.

"I'll help you," Lennie offered and followed Jess out of the living room, leaving Dean and Sam alone with a laughing Mary.

"So who else is coming?"

"Bobby's coming and some of the kids from down the street and from her playgroup. It's gonna be an afternoon of screaming kids so its good that you're here to keep me sane."

"It won't be that bad."

"It will be that bad," Dean grinned. "Especially with this little monster, won't it sweetheart?" Mary simply laughed and tugged at Dean's amulet. "Put that down honey, daddy doesn't like you pulling at his necklace."

"I don't know; she seems the same as when I left."

"Except she's faster and she likes to answer back."

"So she definitely takes after you then?"

"Hey," Dean said but he couldn't help laughing.

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"Are you ready for the wedding?" Lennie asked Jess as she took a sip of coffee. They were sitting in the kitchen as Jess prepared for Mary's party.

"Almost," she replied. "We have the venue, the dress and I'm pretty sure Dean has got his suit by now."

"Are you nervous?"

"A little; I just can't help feeling that there's so much more to do but I don't have enough time to do it."

"I guess it's the same for every couple but there is such a thing as being too prepared."

"I don't think there is," Jess laughed as she put the finishing touches to Mary's birthday cake. "What do you think?"

"I think it looks perfect."

Mary of course loved every second of her birthday party. She shoved cake into her mouth and found the wrapping paper more enjoyable than her actual presents. As Dean danced with her Sam sat next to Jess for a chat.

"She's so beautiful," Sam told her.

"And so much like Dean," Jess smiled. "She's stubborn and selfless and sweet. I see more of Dean in her the more I look at her."

"Poor kid," Sam joked.

"Hey, that's the guy I'm marrying in a week and a half."

"And he's my brother so I can tease him as much as I like."

"How's the demon hunting going then?" Jess asked; changing the subject.

"It's hard but it's worth it."

"How's Lennie taking it?"

"Most of the time she's okay. It was hard for her at first but I think she's getting used ot it now. It freaked her out the first few exorcisms."

"I'm not surprised. She seems happy enough to be with you though."

"Yeah, I love being with her."

"You think she might be for the long term?"

"I hope so; she makes me feel so happy."

"Good, you deserve a little happiness."

"Hey you gonna come and dance?" Dean called out to Jess and held out his hand. Jess laughed and stood up to go to Dean and Mary. Sam sat and stared at the three of them together and smiled. They were a family. It's what he wanted too.

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Jess looked beautiful, Dean thought as she stood in front of him wearing her white dress. They had decided on a small wedding with only close friends and family present for the ceremony. Dean was sad that his mom and dad couldn't be there to see this but at least Sam was there, standing next to him; looking so proud for his big brother.

"You actually did it?" Sam grinned and shook Dean's hand after the ceremony. "I never thought you'd get married in a million years."

"I'm almost offended by that," Dean laughed. "You'd think I'd never had a meaningful relationship the way you're talking."

"You mean you have?" Sam joked and Dean teasingly pushed his younger brother. "I'm happy for you, I really mean that."

"How long are you planning to stay or are you leaving straight after the party?"

"I don't know. I haven't heard of any demonic activity so I might stay until I do. I think it'll be good to have a couple of days off."

"That's good," Dean smiled. "Now if you excuse me I'm going to see my new wife."

Sam stood and watched as Dean made his way over to Jess and Mary, just like at her birthday party the week before and he smiled. He felt Lennie stand next to him and he wrapped his arms around her.

"They look so happy together don't they?" Lennie said to him as she snuggled closer to him.

"They do. Lennie?" He asked.

"Yeah?" She replied.

"Will you marry me?" He asked her without actually looking at her. He then glanced over to her to see her shocked expression and he grinned.

"Yes, I'll marry you," she replied.

Now everything was starting to come together for Sam. He looked over one more time at Dean and Jess; who were cuddled up together, kissing happily and then he turned to Lennie.

The best was yet to come.


End file.
